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U.S. Central Command said Tuesday that American naval forces have redirected a total of 108 commercial vessels attempting to enter or exit Iranian ports since the start of its blockade against Iran, as the operation entered its seventh week with no sign of abating.
The figures, posted to CENTCOM's account on X, mark an increase from the 100 redirections the command reported just days earlier on May 23, when officials also confirmed that more than 15,000 U.S. troops were deployed in support of the mission. Twenty-six humanitarian aid vessels have been granted passage through the blockade zone, CENTCOM noted at that time.
Accompanying Tuesday's update was a photograph of a U.S. sailor standing watch in the pilothouse of the USS John Finn, a guided-missile destroyer, as the vessel transited the Arabian Sea in support of the operation.
Earlier Tuesday, CENTCOM spokesman Tim Hawkins told U.S. media that American forces had carried out fresh strikes on targets in southern Iran, characterizing the action as "defensive" in nature, though he provided no further detail on the scope or specific locations of those strikes.
The naval blockade began April 13, following the collapse of diplomatic negotiations in Islamabad. CENTCOM has stated the operation is enforced against vessels of all nations seeking to enter or depart Iranian ports and coastal areas along the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman, while specifying that freedom of navigation for ships transiting to and from non-Iranian ports would not be impeded.
The Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly a quarter of the world's seaborne oil trade and a fifth of its liquefied natural gas supply has historically passed, has been at the center of a broader maritime standoff. Iran closed the strait following U.S. and Israeli military actions earlier this year, creating what analysts have described as a "dual blockade," with American forces restricting Iranian port access while Iran sought to control movement through the strait itself.
The pace of redirections has accelerated in recent weeks. CENTCOM had reported 48 vessels turned away within the first 20 days of the blockade. The tally has since more than doubled, reaching 108 as of May 26. The command has also employed naval aircraft to disable vessels that attempted to proceed toward Iranian ports despite orders to turn back.
The USS John Finn and other guided-missile destroyers have been operating across the Oman Sea and Arabian Sea in support of the mission, which CENTCOM says will continue to be enforced.
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