US-Iran Conflict: US strikes three Iranian oil tankers after missile attacks

WASHINGTON: The US-Iran conflict escalated on Saturday after US forces struck three Iranian crude oil carriers following what US Central Command (CENTCOM) described as ballistic missile attacks by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) against two American warships.

CENTCOM said US forces permanently disabled one crude oil carrier off the coast of Kharg Island and another near Jask. A third tanker came under attack in the Gulf of Oman, according to the command.

The US military said the IRGC launched ballistic missiles towards two US Navy vessels operating in the region. CENTCOM said an American aircraft carrier and a guided-missile destroyer evaded multiple attacks and that no US personnel were injured.

Iran condemned the strikes on the oil tankers, describing them as an “act of aggression”. Its Foreign Ministry accused Washington of violating international law through what it called an ongoing military campaign, naval blockade and economic war against Iran.

The ministry said Iran would defend its sovereignty and warned that the US and its allies would bear responsibility for any further escalation.

Iran’s IRGC naval forces separately claimed that they had struck a US Navy drone attempting to enter the Strait of Hormuz, according to Iran’s state broadcaster IRIB.

A spokesperson for Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters also warned that Tehran would launch more severe and potentially broader attacks against US warships if Washington continued what Iran described as a naval blockade and harassment of Iranian vessels.

Iran is one of OPEC’s largest oil producers and had exported about 90% of its crude through Kharg Island before the conflict, according to the report. Oil shipments have since been disrupted by a US blockade of Iranian oil exports that began in mid-April.

The conflict has also severely disrupted traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial waterway for global oil supplies.

US President Donald Trump threatened in June to seize Kharg Island as American military operations against Iran continued. On August 31, he also posted an artificial intelligence-generated video depicting the island being destroyed.

The latest strikes came a day after the US Treasury Department announced sanctions against a Turkish investment bank and two subsidiaries over alleged financial links to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard.

The Treasury accused Golden Global Yatirim Bankasi Anonim Sirketi and its subsidiaries, Golden Global Varlik Kiralama Anonim Sirketi and Golden Global Portfoy Yonetimi Anonim Sirketi, of helping Iran transfer oil revenues from China to Turkey.

US authorities said the funds could then be converted into cash and gold through money exchangers linked to Iran’s leadership network.

Golden Global Bank is the second major financial institution targeted under the Trump administration’s “Operation Economic Outcast”, which seeks to isolate Tehran through economic pressure and sanctions against businesses accused of supporting Iran.

The latest military strikes and Iranian threats have raised concerns that the confrontation could widen further, with the security of commercial shipping and global oil supplies increasingly at risk.