Iranian forces have struck eight oil tankers in the Persian Gulf and targeted two US Navy vessels in retaliation for attacks on Iranian shipping, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said on Wednesday. It claimed the strikes inflicted “significant damage” on the ships.
US Central Command later rejected the claim that American warships were hit, saying, “no US Navy warship has been struck” and all IRGC attacks failed. CENTCOM added that US forces destroyed ten Iranian tankers over the past week, describing the vessels as part of a multi-billion-dollar network funding the IRGC.
The IRGC said it also targeted ten other ships that allegedly attempted, with US military support, to pass through an area of the Strait of Hormuz that Tehran declared prohibited and unsafe. The IRGC said it remains in control of shipping through the strategic waterway. The claims have not been independently verified, and there has been no immediate US confirmation of damage to the vessels.
The attacks came after the IRGC Navy issued an “urgent warning” late Tuesday, telling tanker crews around the docks and anchorages of Bahrain and Kuwait to immediately abandon their ships.
“We warn all crew members of the tankers in the vicinity of the docks of Kuwait and Bahrain... to immediately leave their vessels, whether at anchor or at the docks, as they will be targeted,” the IRGC Navy Command said.
The statement accused Bahrain and Kuwait of hosting US forces and being “partners” in Washington’s attacks on Iranian shipping.
Iranian retaliation began shortly afterward, with numerous videos circulating online showing ballistic missiles being launched from locations across Iran toward US military facilities in the region.
Videos from Jordan appear to show intense air-defense activity, with Patriot interceptors engaging incoming projectiles, including what some OSINT accounts identified as medium-range ballistic missiles equipped with cluster warheads.
Multiple OSINT accounts identified Muwaffaq Salti Air Base, a major facility used by US forces east of Amman, as one of the principal targets. Some reported missile impacts near the base, but neither the impacts nor the type of warheads used have been officially confirmed.
US Central Command said it destroyed five Iranian crude oil carriers after the IRGC allegedly targeted a US Navy warship with ballistic missiles twice over the previous two days. The command said four tankers were struck in the Gulf of Oman and a fifth near Kharg Island, adding that US forces ordered their crews to abandon ship before the vessels were rendered inoperable.
The latest attacks follow another round on Saturday in which US Central Command said it struck three Iranian crude carriers after ballistic missiles were fired toward a US aircraft carrier and guided-missile destroyer. Two tankers were disabled and a third, which was carrying no oil, was destroyed after the crew was ordered to abandon ship.
Iran subsequently claimed that it struck three tankers traveling along what it described as an unauthorized route through the Strait of Hormuz, as well as three US-linked vessels elsewhere.
The maritime confrontation has become an increasingly prominent front in the six-month conflict. The US maintains a naval blockade restricting traffic to and from Iranian ports, while Iran has imposed its own controls over passage through Hormuz and recently announced plans for an additional restricted maritime zone in the Persian Gulf.
Around one-fifth of global oil supplies passed through the Strait of Hormuz before the war, making threats to commercial shipping particularly sensitive for energy markets. Oil prices continue to climb, with Brent breaking above $100 a barrel on Wednesday for the first time in nearly two months as markets price in growing risks to global energy supplies.