US Intercepts Third-Country Tanker Breaching Iran Blockade

On July 15, 2026, US forces disabled the Curaçao-flagged tanker M/T Belma in the Strait of Hormuz after it ignored warnings heading toward Iran's Kharg Island. A US aircraft fired Hellfire missiles into the ship's smokestack. Every prior blockade interdiction since May targeted Iranian-flagged vessels — making this the first third-country-flagged ship stopped, a shift that could widen the diplomatic fallout.