US Central Command said in a press release on Saturday that its forces “destroyed” three Iranian oil tankers, framing the attacks on civilian ships as a response to Iranian missiles being fired toward US Navy warships.
CENTCOM described the ships as “IRGC tankers,” an apparent attempt to justify the attack on civilian vessels. At least two of them, the Downy and the Stark 1, are owned and managed by the National Iranian Tanker Company. SeaTrade Maritime News reported that, based on publicly available data, it’s unclear who owns or manages the third ship, the Kylo.
In its press release, which included footage of the strikes on the tankers, CENTCOM said that a US aircraft carrier and a guided-missile destroyer “successfully evaded” multiple Iranian attacks.
“Following Iran’s failed attacks, CENTCOM permanently disabled the IRGC crude oil carriers M/T Downy off the coast of Kharg Island and M/T Stark 1 near Jask,” the command said.
“American forces also completely destroyed the unladen crude oil carrier M/T Kylo (also known as the “Noxen”) in the Gulf of Oman, striking the vessel in multiple critical locations to render it inoperable after the crew was directed to abandon ship,” CENTCOM added.
In a statement following the attacks, US War Secretary Pete Hegseth said, “It’s simple: if Iran shoots at U.S. ships, we will destroy (and sink) their oil tankers.” But despite the US strikes and threats, Iran claimed several attacks on commercial ships and US warships in the day that followed.
Shortly after the US attacks, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed that its navy responded by targeting “three oil tankers traveling along an unauthorized route through the Strait of Hormuz, as well as three vessels affiliated with the child-killing United States, in other areas,” and Iranian media published videos of burning oil tankers.
The IRGC also said that it launched more attacks targeting a US aircraft carrier and a guided-missile destroyer involved in enforcing the blockade of Iran, and claimed that it forced the warships to flee. On Sunday, the IRGC said that it struck an unmanned US vessel that entered the Strait of Hormuz, a claim that the US denied.
Iranian officials have also warned that Iran will escalate its responses to US attacks in the region. “From now on, any aggression against Iran’s interests and security will receive a faster, heavier and more painful response,” said Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf.
