The United States military said Saturday that its forces had struck and destroyed three oil tankers linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps after Iranian forces allegedly fired on American warships in the region.
The operation, according to the US Central Command, involved two crude oil carriers near Kharg Island and Jask, as well as an unladen tanker in the Gulf of Oman.
CENTCOM said in a statement published on X that American forces “permanently disabled” the M/T Downy off the coast of Kharg Island and the M/T Stark 1 near Jask.
It added that US forces also destroyed the M/T Kylo in the Gulf of Oman after the vessel’s crew had been ordered to abandon ship.
According to CENTCOM, the Kylo was struck at multiple critical locations to render it inoperable.
The US military said the action followed what it described as failed Iranian attacks against American warships.
The statement did not provide further details about the nature of the attacks on the US vessels, the weapons used against the tankers or whether there were casualties among the crews of the affected ships.
The strikes mark a further escalation in the confrontation between Washington and Tehran, with oil shipping and maritime security remaining central concerns amid the wider military conflict.
The three vessels were identified by CENTCOM as crude oil carriers associated with the IRGC, Iran’s powerful military organisation.
The US command said the M/T Kylo was unladen when it was targeted and that its crew had been directed to leave the vessel before the strikes were carried out.
No independent confirmation of the extent of the damage to the three tankers, the condition of their crews or the circumstances surrounding the alleged Iranian attacks was contained in the report.
The development comes as tensions between the United States and Iran continue to centre on military operations and maritime activity in the region, with commercial and energy-related vessels potentially exposed to the conflict.
CENTCOM’s account represents the US military’s version of the incident. No response from Iranian authorities was included in the report.
