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The United States has redirected six commercial vessels and disabled one ship under a naval blockade against Iran, as Tehran vowed Sunday to take "appropriate action" following an American strike on a nuclear power plant under construction in the country's southwest.
U.S. Central Command announced Sunday that Navy sailors aboard the guided-missile destroyer USS John Finn remain deployed to enforce the blockade, which Washington resumed Tuesday targeting vessels transiting to or from Iranian ports and coastal areas.
"As of July 19, CENTCOM has redirected 6 commercial vessels and disabled 1 to ensure full compliance," the command said in a statement posted to X.
Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi issued a sharp condemnation Sunday after Tehran said U.S. forces struck the Darkhovin nuclear power plant, a facility under construction in the southwestern Khuzestan province.
Iran's Atomic Energy Organization confirmed the strikes had targeted the site.
Gharibabadi called the attack "a dangerous assault on Iran's peaceful infrastructure," and said Washington bears "full responsibility for the consequences of escalating insecurity and instability."
Iran, he added, "strongly condemns this aggression and will take appropriate action to defend its national interests and security."
The strikes and blockade enforcement come despite a diplomatic agreement reached in June, when the two countries signed a Pakistan-brokered memorandum of understanding intended to end hostilities and lay the groundwork for a lasting peace.
That accord has not halted the military exchanges, with the U.S. having launched attacks on Iran and Tehran responding with strikes on facilities and bases it says are used by American forces across several regional countries.
A naval blockade, one of the oldest instruments of warfare and economic coercion, disrupts the flow of goods and revenue by denying an adversary access to maritime trade routes.
The redirection and disabling of commercial vessels signals a broadening of pressure beyond military targets to include Iran's commercial shipping lanes, compounding the economic strain already imposed by years of international sanctions on the country.
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