The United States military announced on Saturday that it had struck three Iranian oil tankers in a retaliatory move after American navy warships were targeted by missile attacks. According to military officials, a US aircraft carrier and a destroyer successfully avoided multiple unprovoked Iranian attacks while patrolling the region. No injuries to US personnel were reported.
The Pentagon confirmed that two of the Iranian oil carriers were permanently disabled, while a third tanker, which was not laden with oil, was destroyed. The US military stated that these vessels were part of a shadow network providing financial support to Iran's Revolutionary Guards and various armed proxy groups operating across the Middle East. Adm Brad Cooper, the head of US Central Command, issued a statement warning that the US would defend its forces and, if necessary, destroy Iran’s limited and exposed oil fleet.
The strike locations were identified as being off Kharg Island, near Jask, and in the Gulf of Oman, where the unladen tanker was hit. The US military also released video footage of the operations. This announcement followed earlier reports from Tasnim, a semiofficial outlet affiliated with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, which claimed a strike occurred near Kharg Island on Saturday morning, adding that the crew survived and was being evacuated.
Regional tensions have been further heightened by reports of civilian casualties in previous incidents. Iranian officials reported that a strike on Tuesday hit a wedding in southern Iran, killing four people, including a child, and injuring dozens. When asked on Thursday about the incident, US Vice-President JD Vance remarked that “sometimes things happen.” Furthermore, a 28 February US attack in Minab, which struck a school compound and killed at least 156 people, remains under scrutiny. A preliminary US military inquiry suggested the incident resulted from a targeting error involving outdated coordinates, though a full report has not been released.
