A cargo ship just found out how serious Washington is about its naval blockade of Iran. U.S. Central Command says a U.S. military aircraft struck and disabled the St. Kitts-flagged M/V Huda in the Gulf of Oman on November 7. According to CENTCOM, the ship's civilian crew ignored repeated warnings and tried several times to break the blockade. The vessel was reportedly leaving regional waters after a visit to an Iranian port when it was hit. CENTCOM says the aircraft fired precision munitions at the stern, but only after the crew was directed to abandon the targeted spaces.

The strike comes as the blockade, which began in July, keeps driving tensions between Washington and Tehran across some of the world's most sensitive shipping lanes. CENTCOM says it is enforcing the blockade strictly and that its forces have redirected 147 commercial vessels that complied with their instructions. The command has also told all mariners near Iranian coastal areas to take U.S. warnings seriously, which reads as a clear message to every ship captain in the region. Big questions remain, though. CENTCOM's statement does not say what the Huda was carrying, and nothing has been said yet about the ship's condition or its next steps. The claims about the ship's behavior come from the U.S. military, and the vessel's owners and crew have not given their side.