U.S. military strikes three Iranian oil tankers after Navy ships face missile attacks

The United States struck three Iranian oil tankers after saying its Navy ships had come under missile attack, marking another turn toward open fighting in a war that has repeatedly shifted between escalation and relative calm.

The U.S. military said an aircraft carrier and a destroyer evaded “multiple unprovoked Iranian attacks” while operating in the region. No American personnel were injured, it said. Two Iranian oil carriers were “permanently disabled,” while a third, which was unladen, was destroyed. The crew of the third vessel was directed to abandon ship.

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if necessary, destroy Iran's limited and exposed oil fleet.

The United States said the tankers belonged to a shadow network that helped finance Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guard and its armed proxies. Adm. Brad Cooper, the head of U.S. Central Command, warned that Washington would defend its forces and target Iran’s exposed oil fleet if necessary.

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multiple unprovoked Iranian attacks

Iranian state television earlier reported that four U.S. missiles hit a tanker about 10 kilometers from Kharg Island, the site of a terminal through which Iran exports most of its oil. The United States said one tanker was struck off Kharg Island, another near Jask east of the Strait of Hormuz, and the unladen tanker in the Gulf of Oman. Iranian state media later said the crews of the other two vessels had evacuated.

The strikes came after the United States and Iran resumed attacks following a month of relative calm. The Strait of Hormuz and Iranian communities along it have again come under attack. At least five people were killed earlier in the week during a U.S. bombardment of southern Iran, including an attack that hit a wedding. Thirteen-year-old Masoumeh Zarei was wounded and told the Associated Press she had been heading to the celebration when she was knocked unconscious by a strike on a telecommunications tower.

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The party had just started, and we wanted to go there.