US Central Command said its forces had redirected 125 commercial vessels as part of efforts to enforce a US naval blockade of Iranian ports, according to a statement reported by Middle East Eye.
Centcom announced the figure in a post on the social media platform X on Wednesday. The command said the total covered operations conducted by its forces through September 30 and described the diversions as measures intended to secure strict compliance with the blockade.
The US military statement did not identify the commercial vessels involved, specify where they had been redirected or provide information about their operators, cargoes or intended destinations. It also did not give a breakdown of when the individual vessels were diverted.
Centcom’s post referred to the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush, identified by the designation CVN 77, sailing in the Arabian Sea in support of the US enforcement operation against Iran. Beyond that reference, the statement did not name other military assets or describe how the vessels were approached and redirected.
The announcement presented the figure of 125 vessels as evidence of ongoing enforcement activity. However, the material provided no details about whether any ships had attempted to enter Iranian ports, whether any vessels resisted instructions or whether further action had been taken after they were redirected.
Middle East Eye reported the Centcom announcement in a live-blog update. The US command’s social media post was the sole stated basis for the claim, and no response from Iran, commercial shipping companies or vessel crews was included in the report.
The statement also did not specify how long the enforcement operation had been under way, what criteria were being used to assess compliance, or whether the redirected ships were later permitted to continue on altered routes. No additional statistics on maritime traffic or other outcomes of the blockade were provided.
Reporting attribution: based on reporting by Middle East Eye — original source: https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/us-centcom-says-it-redirected-125-vessels-enforce-iran-blockade.