US strikes Iranian oil carriers after reported attack on two warships

An exchange of fire at sea widened the confrontation between the United States and Iran on Saturday (September 5).

Washington said its forces had struck three Iranian oil carriers, while Tehran said it had targeted six vessels.

Three were tankers travelling on routes Iran considered unauthorised through the Strait of Hormuz, and the other three were US-linked vessels in other areas.

US Central Command linked the carrier strikes to ballistic missiles launched at two US Navy ships by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

It reported that all American personnel were unharmed.

One of the three Iranian vessels was struck off Kharg Island, close to the country’s oil-export hub.

Admiral Brad Cooper, head of US Central Command, which oversees US military operations in the Middle East, issued a warning to the IRGC.

“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,” he said.

The IRGC answered by threatening more intensive strikes against US military vessels in the region.

Its navy said in a statement broadcast by Iranian state television, “Do not be deceived by the ‘terrorist’ US military and refrain from any suspicious movement aimed at passing through unauthorised waterways. Otherwise, you will be targeted.”

An account from Tasnim, the semi-official Iranian news agency, focused on the anchorage at Kharg.

Citing local sources, it said four US missiles had hit a tanker, no casualties had been reported, and the crew was being evacuated.

Concern over global supplies was reflected in Brent crude futures, which closed on Friday at $96.28 a barrel, their highest level since July 24.

Iran, the third-largest producer in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, routed 90% of its crude exports through Kharg Island before the war.

Those shipments have been disrupted since the US blockade of Iranian oil exports began in mid-April.

Iran’s effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz prompted Washington to impose a naval blockade on Iranian ports.

Before the war, one-fifth of the world’s oil supply passed through the waterway.

In the United States, the conflict has drawn opposition from a majority of Americans ahead of congressional elections in November.

The fighting has continued since the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran in February and has disrupted global energy supplies.

Hostilities intensified further during the week leading to Saturday’s exchange, raising the risk of a broader conflict.

Although President Donald Trump’s administration is broadening sanctions to increase economic pressure on Iran, the president has kept open the possibility of using military force.

Trump paired a one-line social media post on August 31 with a video generated using artificial intelligence in which Kharg Island was shown being “blown to smithereens”.

Iranian authorities have promised a strong response to any attack on the island.

Trump’s position had shifted before.

He said on June 11 that he wanted to take over Kharg, then ruled out a US military operation there.

An interim agreement intended to end the war was signed by Tehran and Washington on June 17, several days later.

Even without such an operation, Iran’s wider economy is already reeling from the US naval blockade.

A US attack on Kharg would create additional pressure on the oil industry and deepen that economic strain.

Source: Reuters