US strikes cargo ship Huda in Gulf of Oman for breaking Iran blockade

A US strike on a blockade runner

US Central Command, known as CENTCOM, said on Saturday, 7 November, that a US military aircraft had hit the stern of the cargo ship Huda in the Gulf of Oman. The vessel sails under the flag of Saint Kitts and Nevis. According to the military, its crew tried to slip past the American naval blockade of Iran and ignored repeated warnings, and the ship had just left an Iranian port. Before the attack, US forces told the crew to leave specific parts of the vessel that were about to be targeted. The precision strike disabled the ship, CENTCOM said, and the US military did not reply to a request for comment from AP.

Blockade enforcement since April

Washington has blocked shipping to and from Iran since April 2026. In its statement CENTCOM said it would keep enforcing the blockade strictly. Since July, US forces have halted 147 cargo ships, and five more were stopped because their crews refused orders. CENTCOM also said it had destroyed 10 other Iranian cargo tankers earlier, which it described as part of a Revolutionary Guard network worth billions of dollars, known as the shadow fleet. The previous confirmed US attack on a ship in the Gulf of Oman came almost a month before this one.

Cargo ships halted since July147

Ships halted for refusing orders5

Iranian cargo tankers destroyed earlier10

Cargo ships halted since July

147

Ships halted for refusing orders

5

Iranian cargo tankers destroyed earlier

10

Data from the article text

Fire at sea and explosions in Iran

The UAE's National Guard said it had rescued 22 people from a ship in the Gulf of Oman where a fire had broken out. It did not say whether this was the same vessel as the Huda. Separately, Iranian state media reported explosions on Saturday evening on Qeshm island, in the Strait of Hormuz and at the port of Jask. Nobody has said who was behind those blasts, and no source ties them to the strike on the Huda. The sources do not say whether anyone was injured in either incident.

Israeli rift over a possible strike on Iran

Israeli broadcasters Channel 12 and Army Radio reported that army chief Eyal Zamir clashed with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over an order for military steps that could quickly lead to a new war with Iran before the parliamentary elections on Tuesday, 10 November. The reports say Zamir demanded a legal basis for any such action. Netanyahu called the report nonsense. CNN, citing a source, said Netanyahu had tried in vain to convince Trump, who held back partly because of Zamir's objections. According to CNN, Zamir told US counterpart Dan Caine that a new attack could endanger the vote or even lead to its postponement. Channel 12 generally has good sources, and its report draws on several of them. During the run-up to the vote, several American and Israeli outlets reported that Netanyahu repeatedly urged Trump to resume bombing Iran before the Israeli election. Netanyahu and his right-wing coalition partners are in a bitter contest with the opposition bloc led by former army chief Gadi Eisenkot, who is doing well in the polls.