The US military carried out airstrikes this morning in the Strait of Hormuz, targeting multiple empty oil tankers trying to break the blockade.
The US military hit a group of empty tankers in the Strait of Hormuz that were trying to barrel through the blockade of Iranian ports, according to US Central Command.
A US Navy F/A-18 Super Hornet struck two empty Iranian tankers that were attempting to break past the American blockade on Tehran’s ports, disabling them both “after firing precision munitions into their smokestacks,” CENTCOM said in a post to X.
The ships — known as the M/T Sea Star III and M/T Sevda — were attempting to breach the blockade to reach an Iranian port in the Gulf of Oman.
U.S. Navy F/A-18s disabled three Iranian-flagged tankers attempting to breach the blockade on the Gulf of Oman.
M/T Sea Star III and M/T Sevda were hit with precision munitions to their smokestacks on May 8. M/T Hasna had its rudder taken out by 20mm cannon fire on May 6. None… pic.twitter.com/b3tCLHKDEL
— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) May 8, 2026
A third ship was also stopped when an F/A Super Hornet “disabled the unladen oil tanker’s rudder by firing several rounds from a 20mm cannon gun,” the combatant command said.
CENTCOM revealed in a separate post to X on Friday that “[t]here are currently more than 70 tankers that US forces are preventing from entering or leaving Iranian ports.
🚨 JUST IN: The US military has just carried out MORE AIRSTRIKES in another blow to Iran — targeting several empty, very LARGE crude containers that tried breaking Donald Trump’s blockade
LFG! NOBODY gets through 👏🏻
FOX: “We have just learned that the U.S. has carried out more… pic.twitter.com/52rHh91WOC
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) May 8, 2026
Secretary of State Marco Rubio scolded reporters and told them only stupid countries don’t fire back when fired at, and we are not a stupid county.
SECRETARY RUBIO: Only stupid countries don’t shoot back when you’re shot at. And we’re not a stupid county. pic.twitter.com/9vkRswelIG
— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) May 8, 2026
