US forces struck three Iranian oil tankers on Saturday, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said, including one off the coast of Kharg Island, near Iran's key oil export hub. The strikes were carried out after Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) launched ballistic missiles at two US Navy ships, CENTCOM said. “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," said Admiral Brad Cooper, head of US CENTCOM. Tasnim, the semi-official Iranian news agency, reported earlier that four US missiles hit a tanker in the area of Kharg's anchorage. Tasnim quoted local sources as saying there were no casualties and the tanker's crew was being evacuated. No American personnel were harmed, CENTCOM said.
There was no immediate official announcement by Iranian authorities. US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth took to X to write, "If Iran shoots at US ships, we will destroy (and sink) their oil tankers. All they have to do is not shoot at [the] US Navy." The exchange of attacks follows an escalation in the past week that threatens to deepen a conflict that has dragged on since the US launched strikes on Iran in February, disrupting global energy supplies and drawing opposition from a majority of Americans before congressional elections in November.
US President Donald Trump said on August 31 in a one-line social media post accompanied by an AI-generated video that Kharg Island was being "blown to smithereens". Iranian authorities have vowed a strong response if Kharg is attacked. Iran is the third-largest producer in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and exported 90% of its crude via Kharg Island before the war, but flows have been disrupted since a US blockade of Iranian oil exports began in mid-April. (Read More)
