U.S. Strike Kills 3 Indian Seamen on Oil Tanker

Three Indian seamen have been killed in an alleged US airstrike on an oil tanker that the United States said had violated its naval blockade on Iran, Harriet Sinclair reported for Yahoo News.

The developments come as tensions continue to escalate between the US and Iran, with the two sides trading airstrikes for a second day. (Photo: U.S. Central Command X)

The deaths are the first reported since the blockade began on April 13, according to Reuters.

The US military's Central Command (Centcom) said a US aircraft “fired precision munitions into the ship’s engine room after the crew repeatedly failed to comply with directions from US forces” in the Gulf of Oman.

On Thursday, Centcom said it had disabled an additional tanker — the ninth since the naval blockade began on April 13.

The developments come as tensions continue to escalate between the US and Iran, with the two sides trading airstrikes for a second day.

On Thursday, President Donald Trump said the United States would hit Iran “very hard tonight” and planned to take control of the Middle Eastern country’s oil and gas infrastructure and markets.

Iran’s foreign ministry condemned the latest strikes on Tehran, saying the attacks had rendered the ceasefire — in place since April 8 — “practically meaningless.”