US Retaliates Against Iran, CENTCOM Says Three Oil Tankers Were Targeted

Tensions in the Middle East rose again after the United States and Iran exchanged attacks. US Central Command said American forces struck three Iranian crude-oil tankers following an Iranian ballistic-missile attack on two US Navy warships patrolling regional waters.

In a written statement, CENTCOM said a US aircraft carrier and a guided-missile destroyer had successfully escaped what it called Iran’s unprovoked attacks. No US personnel were injured, the statement said.

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Many critical points were successfully struck.

CENTCOM said its forces destroyed the Iranian Revolutionary Guard-owned tankers M/T Downy and M/T Stark 1 near Kharg Island. It also said US forces completely destroyed the empty crude-oil tanker M/T Kylo, also known as “Noxen,” in the Gulf of Oman. After ordering the crew to abandon the vessel, US forces struck several critical points to render it inoperable.

The command alleged that the three Iranian tankers formed part of a secret multibillion-dollar network that financed Iran’s Revolutionary Guard and its regional proxies. “Iran has no means to defend them,” the statement said.

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Iran has no means to defend them.