Middle East tensions escalated Wednesday as U.S. forces used Hellfire missiles to disable a commercial vessel attempting to breach the American naval blockade against Iran, while the death toll from an Iran-backed Houthi attack on a ship in the Red Sea rose to six.
U.S. Central Command said on Aug. 12 that its forces disabled the steering gear of the Panama-flagged Vela Nova as the cargo vessel attempted to transit the Gulf of Oman and sail toward an Iranian port in violation of the U.S. blockade.
A U.S. Navy MH-60 helicopter fired two Hellfire missiles into the vessel’s engine room after its civilian crew ignored repeated warnings from American forces….