US and Iranian Forces Fire on Vessels in Waters Near Iran

The United States and Iran exchanged fire around Iranian waters on Saturday, with attacks involving oil carriers and tankers and threats of more strikes from both sides.

US Central Command said it hit three Iranian vessels, including one near Kharg Island, Iran’s main oil export hub. The strikes came after Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps launched ballistic missiles at two US Navy ships, Central Command said.

“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,” Admiral Brad Cooper, who leads Central Command, said.

The IRGC threatened intensified attacks on US military vessels and later said it had targeted three tankers, along with three US-linked vessels elsewhere. Its navy warned ships not to use unauthorized waterways. “Do not be deceived by the ‘terrorist’ US military and refrain from any suspicious movement aimed at passing through unauthorized waterways,” it said in a statement broadcast on Iranian state television. “Otherwise, you will be targeted.”

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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.

Tasnim, Iran’s semi-official news agency, reported that four US missiles hit a tanker near the anchorage at Kharg. It quoted local sources as saying there were no casualties and that the crew was being evacuated. Central Command said no American personnel were harmed.

The exchange followed a week of escalation in a conflict that began after US and Israeli strikes on Iran in February. The fighting has disrupted global energy supplies and faced opposition from most Americans ahead of congressional elections in November.

President Donald Trump’s administration is seeking to intensify economic pressure through wider sanctions, but Trump has continued to leave open the possibility of military action. On August 31, he posted a message alongside an AI-generated video showing Kharg Island being “blown to smithereens.” Iranian authorities have vowed a strong response if the island is attacked.

Iran exported 90 percent of its crude through Kharg before the war. 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 closed the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway that carried one-fifth of global oil supplies, according to the article.

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Do not be deceived by the ‘terrorist’ US military and refrain from any suspicious movement aimed at passing through unauthorized waterways. Otherwise, you will be targeted.