U.S. Central Command
Geopolitics
US Fires on Oil Tanker in Hormuz as Iran Strikes US Bases
US forces fired Hellfire missiles into the smokestack of the unladen Curacao-flagged oil tanker M/T Belma on 15 July 2026, disabling the vessel after it ignored multiple warnings and continued toward Iran's Kharg Island in defiance of the reimposed US naval blockade.