U.S. forces disabled the M/T Lavine merchant ship in the Gulf of Oman, according to an AP report, extending a maritime blockade against Iran. The move landed as a tanker attack and air-raid sirens spread across the Gulf, deepening the 2026 Strait of Hormuz crisis.
American forces disabled the M/T Lavine merchant ship in the Gulf of Oman, according to an AP report. The action forms part of a broader U.S.-enforced blockade against Iran that has repeatedly disabled vessels allegedly carrying Iranian oil or heading toward Iranian ports.
Taking direct military action against a commercial vessel in international waters marks a high level of escalation. U.S. Central Command has previously run similar operations using precision munitions to enforce the blockade.
A Mozambique-flagged LPG tanker was also reportedly attacked in Iranian waters, according to a statement from the Indian embassy. The vessel carried 28 Indian crew members, all reported safe, near the chokepoint linking the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. The crisis has continued to disrupt commercial energy shipping through the passage.
On land, Bahrain’s Interior Ministry activated air raid sirens and advised residents to remain calm and seek shelter, according to reports from the account @IranIntl_En. The alert points to a heightened threat level within an Iran-U.S. confrontation that has escalated to include strikes and air-defense alerts across the Gulf. It followed reports of U.S. strikes on Iran and repeated Iranian attacks on Gulf states, including Bahrain, over the past week.
Prediction markets put the odds of Iranian military action on July 24 at 52% YES. The odds of Strait of Hormuz traffic normalizing by August 31 recently dropped to 10.5% YES.
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