Iran war live: Trump says US ‘locked and loaded’ as it seeks Iran talks

Reporting from Wahington DCWe have a statement that was provided to Al Jazeera by the US Central Command.I’m going to attribute it to US Navy Captain Tim Hawkins, the spokesman for CENTCOM, who tells us: “We disabled the tanker after the crew attempted to run the blockade at least four times prior; the crew was repeatedly warned, didn’t comply, and US forces on scene disabled the ship after firing into its engine room. The ship is no longer transiting to Iran.”Now, the broader significance of this, perhaps we could point to, is that the United States is no longer limiting its campaign to the borders within Iran; the Pentagon will likely be framing this as an instance where US military forces are enforcing the US blockade, but it could also be seen as evidence, perhaps, that the conflict itself is expanding beyond the limits of Iran itself.So, that in itself is something that the United States, as well as US allies and partners in the Gulf region and the broader Middle East, have been trying to avoid, which is the scenario that could risk a spillover effect that could sort of drag the rest of the region into a broader regional conflict.