U.S. military strikes Iranian oil tankers after Navy warships were targeted with missiles — SkimNews
Get the Geopolitics newsletter
Daily geopolitics — wars, elections, sanctions, the diplomatic moves that move markets. Free.
- U.S. Central Command struck three Iranian oil tankers — two 'permanently disabled' off Kharg Island and near Jask, and one unladen vessel destroyed in the Gulf of Oman — after an aircraft carrier and destroyer evaded 'multiple unprovoked Iranian attacks' with no U.S. personnel hurt.
- Adm. Brad Cooper, head of U.S. Central Command, warned the U.S. 'will not hesitate to defend American forces, and if necessary, destroy Iran's limited and exposed oil fleet.'
- The U.S. military said the targeted tankers were part of a shadow network helping fund Iran's Revolutionary Guard and its armed proxies across the region.
- Iran's state broadcaster reported Tehran retaliated by targeting three oil tankers and three American vessels, with Iran's joint military command warning strikes against U.S. ships 'would be more severe' if Washington continues interfering with Iranian shipping.
- Iran's Foreign Ministry called the U.S. strikes a 'war crime' and said consequences for continued 'economic warfare' would rest with Washington and its allies.
- Iran expert Danny Citrinowicz at Israel's Institute for National Security Studies said Tehran targeting a U.S. carrier with a ballistic missile signals it is 'increasingly willing to accept risks it previously sought to avoid.'
- Diplomats said the U.S., Britain, France and Germany now seek to refer Iran to the UN Security Council for failing to comply with nuclear nonproliferation obligations, after June negotiations collapsed; separately, a U.S. strike on a wedding in southern Iran killed five and wounded survivors including 13-year-old Masoumeh Zarei.
Why it matters: After a month-long lull already raising energy-price and inflation fears, CENTCOM has now explicitly threatened to wipe out Iran's entire oil tanker fleet — a major escalation that deepens disruption to the Strait of Hormuz, the chokepoint Iran is leveraging as diplomacy collapses and Tehran gets referred to the UN Security Council.
Ask SkimNews
