Strait of Hormuz: US military destroys Iranian oil tankers

The US military says it destroyed one Iranian oil tanker and permanently disabled two others after Iran’s Revolutionary Guards fired rockets at two US Navy ships patrolling international waters.

US Central Command, or Centcom, said the first tanker was “completely” destroyed in the Gulf of Oman. The other two were disabled near Kharg Island and near Jask. Centcom released video showing fire and flames above the vessels and said they belonged to a multibillion-dollar shadow network that finances the IRGC and its regional proxies. No US soldiers were injured, according to the command.

Iranian media had earlier reported several explosions off Kharg Island, about 30 kilometers from the northern Persian Gulf coast. The island hosts the oil terminal through which almost all of Iran’s crude exports are handled. It has repeatedly come under US attack during the war, which began in February.

The fighting resumed after a weeks-long ceasefire, following US efforts to increase economic pressure on Tehran. Iran, meanwhile, has found ways to evade economic sanctions and the blockade of its ports. A central part of that strategy is a shadow fleet that transports oil to buyers and eases the growing economic pressure.