The United States military announced Saturday that it had struck and disabled three Iranian oil tankers, citing their connection to a shadow network supporting Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). These actions reportedly followed a series of missile attacks allegedly directed at US Navy warships.
CENTCOM Details Strikes and Naval Evasions
US Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed that an American aircraft carrier and a destroyer successfully evaded multiple “unprovoked” attacks by Iranian forces. No US personnel were injured during these incidents.
Following these failed Iranian attacks, CENTCOM stated it permanently disabled two IRGC crude oil carriers near Iran’s coast: the M/T Downy off Kharg Island and the M/T Stark 1 near Jask. A third vessel, the M/T Kylo, an unladen crude oil carrier, was targeted and destroyed in the Gulf of Oman. CENTCOM reported that the crew of the M/T Kylo was directed to abandon the vessel before US forces struck it at multiple critical points to render it inoperable.
The US military emphasized that these tankers were part of a covert network used to finance Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guard, aligning the strikes with broader US efforts to target IRGC-associated financial and logistical operations.
Iran Accuses US Amid Rising Tensions
In a contrasting account, Iran has accused the United States of attacking an Iranian tanker near Kharg Island in the Persian Gulf. These conflicting narratives highlight the growing friction between Washington and Tehran and underscore the increased risks to commercial shipping in the strategically vital Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman waterways.
The latest strikes occur amidst heightened military tensions between the two nations, where commercial oil vessels have become central to the confrontation. While the US military links the tanker strikes directly to attacks on American naval assets, Iran frames the US action as an unprovoked assault on its shipping.
With both sides presenting starkly different versions of events, these tanker strikes represent another significant flashpoint in the ongoing confrontation between the US and Iran, raising concerns about regional stability and the security of global energy transportation.