Iran’s navy said on Friday it had fired warning missiles and drones at U.S. warships in the Gulf of Oman, accusing the U.S. Navy of harassing maritime traffic and seizing commercial vessels and oil tankers, Iranian state media reported. Earlier, the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command said U.S. forces had intercepted the sanctioned stateless vessel M/T DAVINA in the Indian Ocean overnight.
“We will continue global maritime enforcement to disrupt illicit networks and interdict vessels providing material support to Iran, wherever they operate,” it said in a post on X.
The exchange comes amid heightened tensions over maritime security around Iran, as Washington enforces sanctions on Iranian oil shipments and Tehran has repeatedly threatened shipping in and around the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran Reaffirms Support To Hezbollah
Iran has reaffirmed support for its Lebanese ally Hezbollah and demanded Israel withdraw from southern Lebanon, underscoring complications facing an interim deal to end the broader conflict between the U.S. and Iran.
Iran has made a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah a condition for any peace deal with Washington to resolve the regional war, now in its fourth month, and restart shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
The latest round of fighting between Hezbollah and Israel erupted at the start of March, two days after the U.S. and Israel launched strikes against Iran. Hezbollah said its actions were in support of Tehran.
“This war will end only when it ends in Lebanon as well,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi told Lebanese TV station Al Mayadeen late on Thursday.
“The end of the war on Lebanon must be accompanied by the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the territories they have occupied,” he said.
US forces board sanctioned tanker in Indian Ocean
In another development, U.S. forces conducted an interdiction of the sanctioned stateless oil tanker Davina overnight in the Indian Ocean, the U.S. military’s Indo-Pacific Command said on Friday.
Washington has imposed a blockade on Iran’s sea trade while Tehran has fired on ships to prevent them sailing through the Strait of Hormuz waterway at the entrance to the Middle East Gulf.
U.S. forces have intercepted multiple commercial and oil tankers in the Indian Ocean in recent months.
“We will continue global maritime enforcement to disrupt illicit networks and interdict vessels providing material support to Iran, wherever they operate,” the Indo-Pacific Command wrote in an X post.
(With inputs from Reuters)
Also Read: Iran–US-Israel War Latest LIVE Update
Zubair Amin is a Senior Journalist at NewsX with over seven years of experience in reporting and editorial work. He has written for leading national and international publications, including Foreign Policy Magazine, Al Jazeera, The Economic Times, The Indian Express, The Wire, Article 14, Mongabay, News9, among others. His primary focus is on international affairs, with a strong interest in US politics and policy. He also writes on West Asia, Indian polity, and constitutional issues. Zubair tweets at zubaiyr.amin
