U.S. Central Command said it hit five Iranian crude oil carriers on Tuesday after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps targeted a U.S. Navy warship with ballistic missiles on two occasions over two days.
“In response to Iran’s most recent failed attacks, CENTCOM destroyed the IRGC crude oil carriers M/T Kaviz, M/T Charminar, M/T Horizon 1, and M/T Riesco in the Gulf of Oman as well as M/T Derya near Kharg Island. American forces directed the crews to abandon ship before the vessels were struck and rendered inoperable,” CENTCOM said in a statement.
“The U.S. warship successfully evaded the attempted Iranian attacks and continued to patrol regional waters. No American personnel were harmed,” it said.
Kharg Island, which sits in the Persian Gulf and serves as the Islamic Republic’s central hub for oil exporting, is a territory of Iran that President Donald Trump has singled out as a preeminent target for future military operations.
Multiple reports on Tuesday speculated that Kharg Island was directly hit, but the official said tankers were hit nearby the island, as well as in other areas.
The Tuesday strikes are the latest in a violent back-and-forth between the U.S. military and the Guard, who have been trading strikes since last week.
U.S. Central Command confirmed on Saturday that strikes were launched against three crude oil tankers — one of which was also near Kharg Island. Those strikes were also ostensibly in response to multiple missiles launched at two U.S. Navy warships.
Kharg is a central hub for Iranian oil exports, “responsible for handling approximately 90 percent of Iran’s crude oil exports,” according to the Council on Foreign Relations.
“Kharg Island has been Iran’s primary oil export hub for nearly seven decades and is considered a lifeline for the Iranian economy. It handles the majority of the country’s crude oil shipments, most of which are destined for Asia — predominantly China,” a June report from the CFR said. “The island’s deepwater, high-capacity terminals can accommodate very large crude carriers, known as supertankers, which cannot dock on much of Iran’s shallow mainland coast.”
Trump claimed in July that the U.S. military has already “attacked Kharg Island” and “knocked out a piece” of its infrastructure.
“I said, ‘Don’t touch the oil, because maybe we’ll take over Kharg Island,’” Trump recounted at the time.
Trump previously posted to social media an AI-generated video of the island being obliterated by the U.S. military with the caption: “Kharg Island being blown to smithereens!!!”
QATAR MAKES PUSH TO GET US AND IRAN BACK TO THE NEGOTIATING TABLE
A direct strike on Kharg Island could have intense ramifications for the global oil market, which has already suffered immense volatility due to Operation Epic Fury. But the White House has maintained its position that the war in Iran will ultimately drive down energy costs in the long term.
“Oil prices will drop precipitously, like everything else is dropping (but more!), when we WIN the war with Iran,” Trump posted on Truth Social Monday. “Three Dollars a gallon, but ultimately, below Two Dollars a gallon. It will all happen quickly, and Iran will never have a Nuclear Weapon. MAGA!”