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CENTCOM says it struck three Iranian oil tankers after IRGC attack on US ships

From Jerusalem Post · () English

Translated from English and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

Newswire From a news agency Ongoing story
  • US Central Command said US forces struck three Iranian oil tankers after the IRGC fired ballistic missiles at two US Navy ships.
  • Iranian media reported that a tanker near Kharg Island was hit and that its crew was being evacuated, with no casualties reported.
  • The exchange followed a week of escalation that has disrupted energy supplies and pushed Brent crude to $96.28 a barrel.

US forces struck three Iranian oil tankers on Saturday after Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps launched ballistic missiles at two US Navy ships, US Central Command said.

One of the tankers was hit off Kharg Island, near Iran’s main oil export hub. “Let the message to the IRGC be clear: If you shoot at two of our ships, we will impose an even higher economic cost, taking out three of yours,” said Admiral Brad Cooper, head of CENTCOM.

Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency earlier reported that four US missiles struck a tanker near Kharg’s anchorage. It quoted local sources as saying there were no casualties and that the crew was being evacuated. CENTCOM said no American personnel were harmed, while Iranian authorities had not immediately issued an official announcement.

The attacks marked another escalation in a conflict that has continued since the United States launched strikes on Iran in February. The fighting has disrupted global energy supplies and faced opposition from a majority of Americans before congressional elections in November.

Let the message to the IRGC be clear: If you shoot at two of our ships, we will impose an even higher economic cost, taking out three of yours

· Brad CooperThe CENTCOM commander described the US strikes as a response to the IRGC missile attack.

Kharg Island has become a central pressure point. President Donald Trump said in an Aug. 31 social media post, accompanied by an AI-generated video, that the island was being “blown to smithereens.” Iranian authorities have vowed a strong response if Kharg is attacked. Trump had also said on June 11 that he wanted to take over the island, before putting a threatened operation there on hold days ahead of an interim agreement signed by Tehran and Washington on June 17.

Iran, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries’ third-largest producer, sent 90% of its crude exports through Kharg before the war. Those flows have been disrupted since a US blockade of Iranian oil exports began in mid-April. The United States imposed the blockade after Iran effectively shut the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway that carried one-fifth of the world’s oil supply before the war.

Brent crude futures closed Friday at $96.28 a barrel, their highest level since July 24, as Middle East tensions intensified concerns about global supplies.

blown to smithereens

· Donald TrumpTrump used the phrase in a social media post about Kharg Island.
About this summary

Originally published by Jerusalem Post in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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