Iran · updated 1h ago · 3 min read
U.S. Strikes Five Iranian Oil Tankers After IRGC Targets U.S. Navy Warship With Ballistic Missiles
CENTCOM says it destroyed five Iranian oil tankers after IRGC missiles targeted a US warship. The strikes came after Iran's IRGC targeted the U.S. naval vessel twice.
18 outlets, one story, no spin found.
7 of 9 outlets skipped it: iran threatened Kuwait and Bahrain tanker crews.
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Tankers hit after missile attempts
The U.S. struck multiple Iranian tankers on Tuesday after Iran’s Revolutionary Guard targeted a U.S. Navy warship with ballistic missiles twice over the last two days, according to a U.S. official cited by Haaretz.
“The U.S. on Tuesday struck multiple Iranian tankers in response to more attempted missile attacks on a Navy warship”
Haaretz said the U.S. action came as the warship successfully evaded the attempted Iranian attacks and continued to patrol regional waters.
The Hill reported that the U.S. military destroyed five Iranian oil tankers linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Tuesday, naming M/T Kaviz, M/T Charminar, M/T Horizon 1 and M/T Riesco in the Gulf of Oman, along with M/T Derya near Kharg Island in the northern Persian Gulf.
The Hill added that the U.S. military directed the crews on vessels to abandon ships before firing at the tankers, and that "No U.S. personnel were harmed."
Middle East Eye similarly said Centcom destroyed five Iranian crude oil tankers on Tuesday after the IRGC targeted a U.S. navy warship twice with ballistic missiles over the last two days.
Threats, warnings, and named voices
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Navy warned crews of oil tankers near ports in Kuwait and Bahrain to immediately leave their vessels, saying the ships could be targeted in retaliation for U.S. attacks on Iranian tankers, as described by Newser.
Newser also reported that Iranian state television said U.S. forces attacked at least three Iranian oil tankers near the southern port of Jask and near Kharg Island in the Persian Gulf, with crews evacuated.
In a separate warning, Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters Tuesday that "Iran continues to try to hit U.S. naval ships" and that "they’re going to lose tankers," according to Saratogian.
Saratogian also quoted Iran expert Danny Citrinowicz warning that "There is no kinetic solution to the Strait of Hormuz problem," adding that "Every attempt to impose one only brings Washington and Tehran closer to an escalation that may become increasingly difficult to control."
Middle East Eye framed the U.S. action as coming after the IRGC’s ballistic-missile targeting of the U.S. warship and said no American personnel were harmed.
Escalation risks and next moves
The Hill said Iran would announce a “restricted zone” near the Strait of Hormuz, and that all ships that come into the zone and do not cooperate with Iran would be placed on a sanctions list, as reported by Press TV.
“we warn all oil tankers in the Kuwaiti and Bahraini ports”
Saratogian reported that Iran later said it planned to announce a new “exclusion zone” near the Strait of Hormuz aimed at vessels intending to transit.
France 24 said the strikes came as Iran threatened attacks on oil tankers off Kuwait and Bahrain, and it described Iran’s warning that tankers in Kuwaiti and Bahraini ports would be targeted.
France 24 quoted the IRGC statement posted on IRNA: "We warn all oil tankers in the Kuwaiti and Bahraini ports" and said the warning urged crews to leave their vessels because they "will be targeted,".
Saratogian added that the latest tit-for-tat strikes were part of a dual economic and military approach by President Donald Trump as he struggles to bring an end to a more than six-month-old war with Tehran.