U. S. Central Command said an American aircraft carrier and a guided-missile destroyer evaded multiple Iranian attacks while patrolling regional waters. No American personnel were harmed, it said. The command did not identify the warships or specify where the Iranian missiles were launched from.
CENTCOM said its forces permanently disabled the M/T Downy off Kharg Island and the M/T Stark 1 near Jask, east of the Strait of Hormuz. It said the unladen M/T Kylo, also known as the Noxen, was completely destroyed in the Gulf of Oman after its crew was directed to abandon ship.
The U. S. military described the three vessels as part of a multibillion-dollar oil network that finances the Revolutionary Guard and armed groups aligned with Tehran. It provided video that it said showed the strikes but did not disclose the weapons used or give an independent assessment of damage.
“If you shoot at two of our ships, we will impose an even higher economic cost — taking out three of yours,” CENTCOM commander Admiral Brad Cooper said. He added that U. S. forces would defend themselves and could, if necessary, destroy more of Iran’s exposed oil fleet.
Iranian state television had earlier said four U. S. missiles struck a tanker about 10 kilometres from Kharg Island, the hub through which most of Iran’s crude exports moved before the war. It said there were no casualties. After the U. S. announcement, the broadcaster also reported attacks on two other tankers and said their crews had evacuated.
Iranian authorities had not issued a detailed official response to the U. S. military’s account by Saturday. The absence of an immediate casualty report from the tanker strikes contrasted with the sharp military warning from Washington, which framed the operation as direct retaliation for attacks on its naval forces.
Kharg Island remains particularly sensitive because of its central role in Iran’s energy exports. Before the war, about 90 per cent of the country’s crude exports passed through the island. Those flows have been disrupted since the United States imposed a naval blockade on Iranian oil exports in mid-April.
The tanker strikes followed a fresh burst of fighting after roughly a month of relative calm. U. S. forces resumed attacks on Iranian targets around the Strait of Hormuz earlier this week, while Iran struck U. S. partners and asserted tighter control over the waterway, keeping commercial traffic well below normal levels.
The Strait of Hormuz carried about one-fifth of global oil supply before the conflict. Disruption to shipping has therefore remained a major concern for energy markets. Brent crude futures ended Friday at $96.28 a barrel, their highest close since July 24, amid renewed fears over supply through the Gulf.
The broader conflict began on February 28 with U. S. and Israeli attacks on Iran and has since alternated between intense military exchanges and pauses. Washington and Tehran signed an interim understanding in June, but negotiations intended to address the war and Iran’s nuclear programme later broke down.
President Donald Trump had separately focused attention on Kharg Island, saying on August 31 that it was being attacked and previously raising the possibility of taking control of it. Iranian officials have warned that an assault on the island would draw a strong response.
Economic pressure has become a central element of the confrontation. Iran has continued moving some oil despite sanctions and the blockade by relying on vessels that Washington says form a shadow fleet. Tehran has also used pressure around the Strait of Hormuz as leverage while its economy faces constraints from disrupted exports.
