A stream of Marines descended from a low flying helicopter onto the deck of a ship last week. The U.S. mariners boarded a crude oil tanker on July 16 in the Gulf of Oman as part of the United States’ renewed naval blockade of Iranian ports.
Footage released by US Central Command (CENTCOM) shows Marines from the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit swarming the tanker in the Gulf of Oman.
The operation was launched “to ensure full compliance with the ongoing US naval blockade against Iran.”
According to CENTCOM, the boarding was carried out by the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit to verify the vessel’s compliance with the blockade.
CENTCOM also said it “redirected” three commercial vessels that had been “trying to run the blockade, disabled one that didn’t comply, and boarded one to ensure full compliance with the ongoing U.S. naval blockade against Iran.”
“The Strait of Hormuz and the surrounding waters remain free and open, except for vessels attempting to violate America’s steel wall blockade,” concluded the CENTCOM statement.
CENTCOM reinstated the naval blockade after US president Donald Trump announced last week that the Strait of Hormuz is open to international shipping but that a full blockade will be imposed on ships coming to and from Iranian ports or carrying Iranian cargo.
Germany and France have urged Iran to de-escalate tensions and return to negotiations with the US, following a joint defence and security council meeting on Friday.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron called on Tehran to avoid military escalations or activities that could jeopardise further talks.
Germany and France also stressed the urgent need to reopen the Strait of Hormuz – a critical global oil chokepoint – without fees or restrictions.
“Supporting the Multinational Military Mission in the Strait of Hormuz led by France and the United Kingdom, France and Germany stand ready with pre-deployed assets to participate as soon as conditions allow,” the statement said.
“This mission could play an important role in reassuring the shipping industry and re-opening the Strait including through verification of demining.”
Trump urges Republicans to ‘add Iran’ to Russian sanctions bill
US president Donald Trump has urged Republicans to add Iran to the Russian sanctions bill.
In a post on Truth Social, he wrote: “Republicans should add Iran to the Russian Sanctions Bill.”
EU, Gulf bloc reject claims of sovereignty over Hormuz as ‘unlawful’
The European Union and the Gulf Cooperation Council rejected as “unlawful” any claim by a state to sovereignty or control over the Strait of Hormuz and opposed imposing permits, transit tolls, or service fees on international shipping through the strategic waterway.
They said the right of passage is guaranteed to all states under international law and “may not be subjected to the control or permission of any state.”
The EU and GCC reaffirmed that freedom of navigation, including passage through the Strait of Hormuz as a strait used for international navigation, is guaranteed under international law, as reflected in the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.
The EU and GCC also expressed “full solidarity” with the affected countries and seafarers of all nationalities who had been placed at risk.
They pledged to continue coordinating closely to safeguard freedom of navigation and protect international shipping and seafarers.
The two sides also called for “restraint” and reaffirmed their commitment to dialogue and diplomacy as the means to resolve the crisis and ensure freedom of navigation through the strait.
“We condemn in the strongest terms the attacks carried out by Iran against commercial vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz, and against the sovereign territory of States of the region, including Bahrain, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Oman, and Jordan. These attacks endangered civilian lives and mariners, violated international law and United Nations Security Council Resolution 2817, and are wholly unjustifiable,” EU and GCC said in a joint statement following the High-Level Forum on Regional Security and Cooperation, held in Brussels on July 13.
