The oil tanker that the U.S. military disabled Wednesday after it tried to break the blockade of Iran received nearly 60 verbal warnings and eight shows of force before American forces fired into its engine room, a U.S. official told The Associated Press.
The ship’s crew also ignored eight shows of force by military aircraft that included flares and flyovers, as well as two final warnings before the United States fired “precision munitions” into the engine room of the Palau-flagged vessel M/T Settebello, according to the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military operations.
The attack in the Gulf of Oman killed three Indian sailors, Indian officials said. The vessel was part of what the U.S. military described as a “shadow fleet” used to illegally transfer Iranian oil and evade sanctions.
The U.S. official said American forces communicated with the ship “dozens of times” over two weeks before the day of the incident. The Settebello had been seen trying to break the blockade multiple times.
The incident is the latest in a series of escalating confrontations in the Gulf of Oman and the Strait of Hormuz as the U.S. enforces a worldwide blockade of Iranian ports. Over the past two months, the U.S. military has boarded or disabled at least a dozen tankers suspected of carrying Iranian oil, with the pace of operations intensifying in June.
The U.S. blockade — announced by former President Donald Trump in April — has drawn condemnation from Iran and criticism from India, whose nationals have been killed in multiple incidents.
India has demanded answers from the U.S. following the deaths of its sailors. On June 10, India’s government said it was seeking “urgent clarification” from Washington about the incident.
The anonymous official did not comment on future operations or potential diplomatic fallout. The Associated Press could not independently confirm the ship’s full communications history.