US missile strikes target Iranian oil tankers near Kharg Island and Jask port: Media

US missile strikes targeted Iranian oil tankers near Kharg Island and Jask Port in the Gulf late Tuesday, with their crews safely evacuated. Iran's Tasnim news agency initially reported that a small Iranian oil tanker was struck approximately four nautical miles (7.4 kilometers) from Kharg Island, with no immediate casualties reported. Tasnim said the vessel was struck by a projectile fired by US forces in the island’s anchorage area. Local sources said no one was injured in the incident and that the tanker's crew was being evacuated. Later, the Iranian state broadcaster IRIB reported that two oil tankers had been attacked near the coast of Jask, with their crews being evacuated to shore. An IRIB reporter on the coast of Jask said a second oil tanker had been targeted near the waters of the port following an attack on another vessel near the coast. The broadcaster said the crews of both tankers were being evacuated to the coast of Jask using lifeboats. The targeting follows earlier reports of blasts that were heard around Kharg Island and in the city of Jask, Fars news agency reported. Two of the explosions were heard around the island, but there were no signs of smoke or fire visible in the area. Another blast was heard in the southern Jask area. The developments come amid heightened tensions between Iran and the US over the Strait of Hormuz, despite the signing of a memorandum in June that envisioned a deal to reopen the strategic waterway as prelude to a wider peace deal.