Updated
US Central Command said an American aircraft fired on and disabled a St. Kitts-flagged cargo vessel on Saturday, November 7, 2026, after the ship tried to leave regional waters following a visit to an Iranian port. Central Command said US forces ordered the crew to abandon targeted spaces before precision munitions were fired at the vessel's stern. Tehran Times reported that Iran dismissed a newly announced US military initiative, Task Force Iron Gate, as another failed attempt to force economic collapse. Iran International reported that the task force targets weapons shipments and other illicit flows across Iran's land borders and the Caspian Sea, and that it may not fully close Iran's northern supply routes but could make the arms and equipment Tehran needs harder to obtain. The episode is part of the continuing US blockade of Iran.