US aircraft attacks tanker near Hormuz, Khamenei to be buried in Mashhad

U.S. forces on Tuesday disabled an unladen oil tanker that was trying to sail toward Iran's Kharg Island, the U.S. Central Command said.

A U.S. warplane fired a Hellfire missile into the engine room of the Botswana-flagged tanker, the M/T Lexie, as it transited international waters toward the major Iranian oil hub in the Persian Gulf, the command said in a statement on X.

"The ship's crew ignored repeated warnings, failing to comply with directions from U.S. forces multiple times over a 24-hour period," said the statement.

Radio communications recordings obtained exclusively by Xinhua from a crew member aboard a stranded commercial vessel near the Strait of Hormuz confirmed the attack.

In one recording, the aircraft can be heard saying: "This is U.S. Aircraft. We are going to fire upon your engine room. Evac(uate) your engine room."

Shortly afterward, a distress call believed to have originated from the tanker said: "Mayday, Mayday. Motor Tanker LEXIE. Fire is in the engine room, and we are abandoning the ship."

It was not immediately clear whether the strike caused any casualties or injuries.

The oil tanker was added to the sanctions list of the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Department of the Treasury in March 2025 for its alleged involvement in the Iranian oil trade.

On May 30, the U.S.-led Joint Maritime Information Center said in a notice that restrictions imposed by the U.S. military on Iranian ports remained in effect and that vessels were prohibited from entering or leaving Iranian ports.

Meanwhile, Iran's former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, killed in a U.S.-Israeli attack on Feb. 28, will be buried in the northeastern city of Mashhad, a senior municipal official said here Tuesday.

Mohammad-Amin Tavakkolizadeh, Tehran mayor's deputy for social and cultural affairs, said Khamenei will be buried at the holy shrine of Imam Reza in accordance with his will and family's recommendation, according to the semi-official Fars news agency.

Three days of farewell ceremonies and a 24-hour funeral procession are planned in Tehran, possibly at first Supreme Leader of Iran Imam Khomeini's Grand Mosalla or his mausoleum. The body will then be transferred to Qom and Mashhad for similar ceremonies, Tavakkolizadeh said.

The ceremonies are scheduled to be held starting from the second half of June. Up to 20 million people may participate in the Tehran events, he said.

Mojtaba Khamenei, the late leader's son, was selected as Iran's new supreme leader in early March.

In a separate report on Tuesday, Fars, citing an informed source, said message exchanges between Iran and the United States have been halted since at least a few days ago.

The last message sent from Tehran to Washington was a "clear" one regarding Lebanon that has received global attention, it said.

This report came as U.S. President Donald Trump wrote Tuesday in a Truth Social post that negotiations between the United States and Iran "have been going on continuously."

Reports about the suspension of the negotiations are "false and erroneous," Trump wrote.