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US Central Command announced that American forces struck three Iranian oil tankers on Saturday after Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps fired ballistic missiles at two US Navy ships. The strikes included one vessel off the coast of Kharg Island near Iran’s primary oil export terminal. Central Command said no American personnel were harmed in the exchange while a semi-official Iranian news agency reported that the tanker’s crew was being evacuated with no casualties among them.
Admiral Brad Cooper, head of US Central Command, stated in a release that the action sent a direct message to the IRGC. “Let the message to the IRGC be clear: If you shoot at two of our ships, we will impose an even higher economic cost — taking out three of yours,” Cooper said according to Reuters. The Iranian tanker near Kharg Island was hit by four US missiles according to local sources cited by Tasnim news agency which added that the vessel had been at anchor when targeted.
Reuters reported that the incident forms part of an escalation over the past week that threatens to deepen a conflict ongoing since the US launched strikes on Iran in February. That fighting has already disrupted global energy supplies and drawn opposition from a majority of Americans ahead of congressional elections in November. Iranian authorities had not issued an immediate official comment on the latest tanker strikes as of Saturday afternoon.
Before the current war Iran exported 90 percent of its crude via Kharg Island according to historical data referenced in Reuters coverage of the region’s energy infrastructure. The latest strikes targeted tankers connected to that export network at a time when shipping activity in the Strait of Hormuz had already shown signs of disruption from prior incidents. Maritime tracking firms have recorded reduced vessel transits through the strategic waterway in recent months amid repeated attacks on commercial shipping.
A separate Reuters dispatch placed the tanker strikes in the context of multiple exchanges involving oil carriers and military targets since an interim peace agreement was tested earlier this summer. US officials have repeatedly stated that operations aim to protect commercial shipping in international waters while Iranian accounts have described responses as defensive measures. The pattern has raised concerns among shipping industry observers about sustained risks to energy transport routes critical for global oil flows.
Central Command emphasised that the action was calibrated to respond proportionally to the missile launch against its vessels without seeking broader confrontation. No details were released on the precise type of tankers involved or the extent of damage sustained beyond the evacuation of crew. The episode marks the latest direct clash between US naval assets and Iranian forces in waters that carry a significant share of the world’s seaborne crude.
