U.S. strikes three Iranian oil tankers after reported missile fire at Navy ships
CENTCOM says three Iranian tankers were hit after missiles targeted Navy ships; Iran’s reported counteraction was not immediately confirmed.
By Georgia Hale · Staff Writer
2 min read
U.S. strikes Iran oil tankers on Sept. 5 after ballistic missiles were launched toward two Navy warships, U.S. Central Command said. The command said an aircraft carrier and a guided-missile destroyer evaded the reported attacks and that no U.S. personnel were harmed.
CENTCOM said the missiles were fired by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and that American forces then struck three Iranian crude-oil carriers. The timing of the reported missile launches was unclear, according to an Associated Press report published by PBS News.
Which Iranian tankers did the U.S. strike?
M/T Downy: CENTCOM said the vessel was permanently disabled off Kharg Island.
M/T Stark 1: CENTCOM said it was permanently disabled near Jask.
M/T Kylo, also known as Noxen: CENTCOM said the unladen carrier was completely destroyed in the Gulf of Oman after its crew was directed to abandon ship.
The military described all three tankers as part of a multibillion-dollar shadow network that funds the Revolutionary Guard and its regional proxies. That is a U.S. military characterization, not an independently established finding in the available reports.
Adm. Brad Cooper, the head of CENTCOM, said the United States would impose “an even higher economic cost” if Iran fired at two U.S. ships, referring to the destruction or disabling of three tankers. He also said U.S. forces would defend American personnel.
Iranian state television reported that Iran then targeted three oil tankers and three American vessels in response to the U.S. strikes, according to the AP. The AP said it could not immediately confirm that account.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry called the U.S. attacks a war crime, the AP reported. Earlier, Iranian state television said four U.S. missiles struck a tanker about 6 miles from Kharg Island. It also said crews of two other tankers had evacuated.
The competing accounts leave key details unresolved, including the timing of the initial missile fire and the reported Iranian response. CENTCOM’s statement names the vessels hit and describes their condition, while Iran’s claims of subsequent strikes had not been independently verified in the AP report.
This story draws on original reporting from NBC News.