The US says it has struck and "disabled an unladen oil tanker" that was sailing towards Iran, as part of Washington's naval blockade on the Strait of Hormuz, BBC reported. 

US Central Command (Centcom) said a US aircraft fired a Hellfire missile into the engine room of the Botswana-flagged M/T vessel, after its crew "ignored repeated warnings".

Centcom also released a footage purportedly showing the moment the tanker was hit on Tuesday. Iran has not publicly commented on the issue.