The United States military has fired on a cargo ship in the Gulf of Oman, saying the vessel broke a blockade tied to Iran. De Telegraaf reported the incident on Sunday, citing the US account. The broadcaster NOS and NU also carried the military's statement that a merchant ship was shot at in the Gulf of Oman.
According to De Telegraaf, the US says the ship was targeted because it breached the blockade on Iran. The reports do not specify the vessel's name, its flag, the number of people on board, or the extent of any damage. They also give no detail on what the blockade consists of or when it took effect.
The same day, HLN reported that the death toll from Saudi airstrikes on Sanaa, the Yemeni capital, had risen to 33, running that update alongside the Gulf of Oman account. The two developments were reported together but no link between them was stated.
The Gulf of Oman sits at the mouth of the Persian Gulf, a corridor used by commercial shipping, though the reports did not describe the ship's route or cargo. De Telegraaf and the other Dutch outlets based their accounts on the US military's statement, and no independent confirmation of the circumstances was included in the material available.
Watch for the US military to release further details on the vessel and the blockade, and for Iran's response to the shooting.