U.S. Central Command said two Navy ships evaded Iranian ballistic missile attacks before American forces hit three crude oil carriers.
DUBAI, UAE — U.S. forces struck three Iranian crude oil tankers Saturday after Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps launched ballistic missiles toward two U.S. Navy warships, the American military said, sharply escalating renewed fighting around one of the world’s most important oil-shipping routes.
U.S. Central Command said an American aircraft carrier and a guided-missile destroyer evaded multiple Iranian attacks while patrolling regional waters and that no U.S. personnel were harmed. CENTCOM said its forces then permanently disabled two crude oil carriers and destroyed a third, unladen tanker in strikes near Kharg Island, Jask and the Gulf of Oman. Iran did not immediately issue a broad official response to the U.S. announcement.
The military identified the disabled ships as the M/T Downy, struck off Kharg Island, and the M/T Stark 1, hit near Jask. CENTCOM said it also destroyed the M/T Kylo, also known as the Noxen, in the Gulf of Oman after its crew had been directed to abandon the vessel. The command described all three ships as part of a network that helps finance the Revolutionary Guard and armed groups allied with Iran. Independent confirmation of that characterization was not immediately available.
Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of U.S. Central Command, described the tanker strikes as a direct response to the attack on the American vessels. “If you shoot at two of our ships, we will impose an even higher economic cost — taking out three of yours,” Cooper said in the military’s statement. He added that U.S. forces would defend American personnel and, if necessary, target more of Iran’s oil fleet.
Iranian reporting offered an early account of at least one of the strikes. The semi-official Tasnim news agency reported that four U.S. missiles struck a tanker near the anchorage at Kharg Island. It cited local sources as saying no casualties were reported and the vessel’s crew was being evacuated. U.S. officials also reported no American casualties from the earlier Iranian attacks. Iranian authorities had not immediately released a comprehensive casualty assessment from the tanker strikes.
The location of one strike added to concerns about the economic consequences of the confrontation. Kharg Island is home to Iran’s main crude export terminal and handled about 90% of the country’s crude exports before the current war, according to Reuters. Iranian oil flows have already been disrupted by months of fighting and a U.S. blockade. Brent crude futures closed Friday at $96.28 a barrel, their highest level since July 24, as renewed military exchanges increased concerns about energy supplies.
Saturday’s attacks followed another round of U.S. strikes against Iranian targets earlier in the week. On Sept. 1, CENTCOM said American forces struck Revolutionary Guard air-defense sites, radar systems, maritime assets, mine-laying capabilities and communications facilities. U.S. officials said those operations followed attempted attacks on commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and on American personnel. Separate reporting said two Iranian government oil tankers also were attacked during that earlier operation.
The latest confrontation comes after roughly a month of relative calm in a conflict that began with U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran on Feb. 28. Fighting has repeatedly centered on the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway connecting the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman. Before the war, roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil supply moved through the strait. Commercial traffic has remained disrupted as U.S. forces guide some vessels through the area and Iran seeks to exert control over shipping.
The tanker strikes also deepen an increasingly direct contest over Iran’s ability to generate oil revenue. Washington has sought to restrict Iranian exports through military and economic pressure, while Tehran has continued moving oil despite sanctions and the blockade. The U.S. military’s decision to attack three carriers immediately after missiles were fired toward American warships signals that maritime attacks could now bring a rapid response aimed not only at Iranian military systems but also at assets tied to the country’s oil trade.
Neither side had announced a new diplomatic breakthrough by Saturday, and it remained unclear whether Iran would launch another military response. The immediate focus remained on the safety of forces and commercial shipping around the Strait of Hormuz and on whether Saturday’s tanker strikes would trigger another round of attacks.
Author note: Last updated September 5, 2026.