Updated

US Central Command confirmed that a US Navy MH-60 helicopter fired two Hellfire missiles into the engine room of the Panama-flagged cargo vessel Vela Nova in the Gulf of Oman after its civilian crew allegedly ignored repeated warnings from American forces. The ship had attempted to transit toward Iranian ports in violation of the unilateral US blockade imposed during the ongoing US-Iran war; CENTCOM said the vessel is no longer transiting. Critics described the target as a neutral civilian ship, raising questions about the legality of the blockade's enforcement. Separately, President Donald Trump claimed the United States is in "total control" of the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has kept closed amid the conflict. The incident underscores how the war has moved into the maritime domain around Iran, with commercial shipping in the Gulf of Oman and the Strait of Hormuz caught between US enforcement operations and Iranian closure of the waterway. Global energy and shipping markets remain exposed to any escalation in the area.