U.S. and Iranian Forces Fire on Vessels in Waters Near Iran

CENTCOM

A screenshot from a video shows what the U.S. military says are strikes that destroyed three oil tankers linked to IRGC.

U.S. and Iranian forces fired at vessels in waters around Iran on Saturday, with three Iranian oil carriers struck by U.S. forces and three tankers targeted by Iran after it said they were travelling on unauthorised routes in the Strait of Hormuz.

U.S. Central Command said it struck the three Iranian vessels, including one off the coast of Kharg Island, near Iran's oil export hub, after Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps launched ballistic missiles at two U.S. Navy ships.

“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 U.S. Central Command, which ⁠oversees the U.S. military in the Middle East.

The IRGC responded by threatening intensified strikes against U.S. military vessels in the region, and said later it targeted the three tankers as well as three U.S.-linked vessels in other areas.

"Do not be deceived by the 'terrorist' U.S. military and refrain from any suspicious movement aimed at passing through unauthorized waterways," the IRGC Navy said in a statement carried on Iranian state TV. "Otherwise, you will be targeted."

Tasnim, the semi-official Iranian news agency, had reported that four U.S. 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, Central Command said.

The exchange of attacks followed an escalation in the past week that threatens to deepen a conflict that has continued since the U.S. and Israel launched strikes on Iran in February, disrupting global ‌energy supplies ⁠and drawing opposition from a majority of Americans before congressional elections in November.

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. Flows have been disrupted since a U.S. blockade of Iranian oil exports began in mid-April.

Trump has spoken of an attack on Kharg before. He said on 11 June that he wanted to take over the island, but then said ⁠a U.S. military operation there was off the table, days before Tehran and Washington signed an interim agreement aimed at ending the war on 17 June.

The U.S. imposed ⁠its blockade on Iranian ports after Iran effectively shut the Strait of Hormuz, an important waterway that carried one-fifth of the world's oil supply before the war.




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