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Sanctioned shadow tanker struck by US missile
On June 2, 2026, the U.S.A. have intercepted the 'Lexie', while transiting international waters towards the Iranian oil export terminal Kharg Island in the Persian Gulf. The crew had ignored repeated warnings. After he vessel failed to comply with directions from U.S. forces multiple times over a 24-hour period, a U.S. aircraft ultimately fired a Hellfire missile into the tanker’s engine room, which struck at port side and disabled the ship, preventing it from reaching Iranian waters. No injuries were immediately reported. By targeting the propulsion system with a precision-guided munition, the CENTCOM effectively halted the unladen tanker without sinking it, enforcing the blockade, while minimising the risk of ecological disaster and massive collateral damage. The vessel appeared to be the same tanker identified by the U.S. Treasury Department as 'Lexi', a former Cameroon-flagged crude oil tanker sanctioned by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) in March 2025 for allegedly transporting Iranian crude oil through ship-to-ship transfers. The vessel was linked to Suriname-based Sea Services Providers NV and formed part of Iran’s shadow fleet, used to move oil exports despite sanctions. , The tanker flying the flag of Botswana, a country with no shipping registry, began violating Iran sanctions already in August 2019 and has shipped approximately 47 million barrels of Iranian oil since then. Its activities became public knowledge in November 2020, but the OFAC waited a further five years before formally sanctioning the vessel. After the attac, the IRGC said that retaliatory drones and missiles were launched against the headquarters of the U.S. Fifth Fleet in Bahrain and other American military targets. Centcom responded by saying that the reports of strikes on the 5th fleet headquarters and a U.S. airbase were false. Iran also claimed on June 3 it targeted a US navy ship in the Gulf of Oman, which was also denied by Centcom. The U.S. claimed to have downed multiple drones that were attempting to attack U.S. forces in Kuwait. However, one person has been killed and more than 60 were injured in an Iranian drone strikes on Kuwait's international airport which had to be closed. Report with video: https://x.com/CENTCOM/status/2061913458396844123
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