U.S. forces struck three Iranian crude oil carriers on Saturday after Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps fired ballistic missiles toward two U.S. Navy warships patrolling regional waters, U.S. Central Command said, explaining explosions reported around Iran’s key oil-export hub of Kharg Island.
CENTCOM said a U.S. aircraft carrier and guided-missile destroyer successfully evaded multiple Iranian attacks and no American personnel were harmed. Following the failed strikes, U.S. forces permanently disabled the M/T Downy off Kharg Island and the M/T Stark 1 near Jask. A third vessel, the unladen M/T Kylo, also known as the Noxen, was completely destroyed in the Gulf of Oman after its crew was ordered to abandon ship.
US hits 3 Iranian tankers after IRGC fires missiles at Navy warships
(Video: CENTCOM)
American forces struck the Kylo in several critical locations to render it inoperable. CENTCOM said all three vessels were part of a multibillion-dollar shadow network used to fund the IRGC and its regional proxies. “Iran has no means by which to defend them,” the command 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,” CENTCOM commander Adm. Brad Cooper said. “We will not hesitate to defend American forces, and if necessary, destroy Iran’s limited and exposed oil fleet.”
Video published by the opposition outlet Iran International and reportedly filmed from a nearby vessel captured what appeared to be U.S. warnings to the Stark 1 shortly before it was attacked.
“Stark 1 tanker, this is a U.S. aircraft. I am preparing to open fire on the stern of your vessel. You have three minutes to evacuate your personnel from the stern,” a voice is heard saying. A second warning reduced the deadline to one minute, followed by a final order: “This was your final warning. Get into your lifeboats and abandon ship immediately.”
Crew members can be heard speaking in Persian and Urdu. At one point, a crew member asks whether the captain and his deputy are at their stations and is told that the captain is still asleep. The Stark 1, which was carrying Iranian oil, was first placed under U.S. sanctions in 2018.
Iranian media earlier Saturday reported that a tanker had been struck roughly 10 kilometers from Kharg Island. The vessel was reportedly hit by four missiles while in the island’s anchorage area. No casualties were reported and its crew was evacuated. Iranian reports did not initially mention the two other vessels struck by U.S. forces.
‘You have 3 minutes’: US warnings before destroying Iran’s ‘shadow fleet’ tankers
The latest exchange follows a renewed escalation around the Strait of Hormuz this week. U.S. forces struck Iran’s Larak Island after Washington said Tehran was preparing to deploy naval mines in an attempt to disrupt a U.S.-led operation escorting tankers through the strategic waterway.
Iran responded with missile and drone attacks against neighboring Gulf states, prompting a broad U.S. wave of strikes against around 60 targets in the Hormuz region and southern Iran.
Tehran later launched further attacks across the region. Interceptions were visible Friday night over the Sea of Galilee, which the IDF said involved Jordanian activity. Iranian and other reports claimed missiles had been launched from Iran toward a U.S. base in Jordan.
President Donald Trump also renewed his threats against Tehran on Friday, saying the United States could soon strike Iran’s Fordow nuclear facility if developments there warranted it.
“We may hit Fordow very soon, because if something happens there, we’re not going to let it happen,” Trump said.
Trump rejected describing the confrontation with Iran as a war, instead calling it a “military conflict.”
“It’s not a big thing. It’s small money for us,” he said. “We lost 18 people, but in Vietnam you lost 100,000 people, and in other conflicts you lost tens of thousands. We’re carrying out strikes intermittently. It’s not a war.”
First published: 16:59, 09.05.26