Disabled oil tanker received dozens of warnings before US opened fire, AP source says

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WASHINGTON (AP) — The tanker disabled by the American military while trying to run the U.S. blockade of Iran had dismissed nearly 60 verbal warnings as well as other shows of force before being fired upon, a U.S. official told The Associated Press.

The ship’s crew also ignored eight shows of force by military aircraft that included fired flares and flyovers, as well as two final warnings before being fired upon Wednesday, according to the official, who was not authorized to publicly discuss the sensitive matter and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Earlier in the week, the U.S. military said an American aircraft fired “precision munitions” into the engine room of the Palau-flagged vessel M/T Settebello. The incident in the Gulf of Oman killed three Indian sailors, Indian officials said.

The U.S. official described the vessel as a shadow fleet ship that has been used to illegally transfer Iranian oil and evade sanctions and was seen trying to break the blockade multiple times. The official noted that U.S. forces communicated with the ship dozens of times over two weeks before the day when the ship was disabled.

In a statement, U.S. Central Command said the military gave the crew 15 minutes to get out of the engine room before the shots were fired that disabled the ship.

“After being in place for more than 60 days, it should be clear by now that U.S. forces will strictly enforce the blockade,” the statement added.

India’s foreign ministry said New Delhi has lodged a “strong protest” with the United States.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio told his Indian counterpart on Friday “that all commercial vessels should immediately comply with orders from U.S. forces as they seek to uphold peace and security in the Strait,” according to a summary of the call released by the State Department on Saturday.