US forces struck five Iranian-linked oil tankers after Iran twice targeted an American warship, according to US Central Command (Centcom), escalating a series of tit-for-tat attacks between Washington and Tehran.
Centcom said the strikes hit tankers linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in the Gulf of Oman and another tanker near Kharg Island, Iran’s main oil export terminal.
The US command said Iran had targeted a US Navy warship with ballistic missiles over the previous two days, but that the vessel successfully evaded the attack. No American troops were harmed, Centcom said.
Iran retaliated by launching missiles toward a US base in Jordan. Jordanian authorities said air defences intercepted 18 of the 20 missiles. The remaining two fell in unpopulated areas, according to a spokesperson for the Jordanian Armed Forces.
The escalation pushed oil prices higher in early Asian trading. Brent crude rose 1.5% to $99.41 a barrel, while US-traded oil increased 1.6% to $94.55.
Centcom said the five tankers were part of a “multi-billion-dollar shadow network” that funds Iran’s Revolutionary Guards and its regional proxies. The claim was not independently substantiated in the supplied report.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Navy Command warned oil tanker crews near ports in Kuwait and Bahrain linked to the US to leave their vessels, saying they would be targeted. The warning followed comments by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who said Iran would lose tankers whenever it attempted to attack US naval ships.
The latest exchange follows a US strike on three Iranian oil tankers on 5 September after Iran attempted to attack a US aircraft carrier and a guided-missile destroyer. The current escalation began last week after about a month of relative calm, according to the report.