US Forces Strike Iranian Tankers Following Missile Attacks on Navy Warship

A US official reported on Tuesday that American forces targeted multiple Iranian tankers linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. According to the official speaking to The National, the military action was initiated in retaliation for fresh missile attacks directed at a US Navy warship.

Following the strikes, the Iranian news agency Mehr published a warning from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps instructing tanker crews located in Kuwaiti and Bahraini ports to evacuate their vessels because they face imminent targeting.

This escalation follows a brief period of restraint after hostilities resumed in late August, shattering a ceasefire between Tehran and Washington that had initially broken down in July. Despite diplomatic efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz—effectively closed by Iran at the onset of the conflict—tensions flared again in August when the US launched strikes against Iranian targets over accusations of minelaying and shipping attacks.

In response, Iran launched ballistic missile strikes targeting US military bases, including a facility in Jordan, and warned of further assaults on US energy interests in the Gulf if strikes on Iranian soil persist. Amid these developments, oil prices have surged, with Brent crude nearing $100 a barrel to close at more than $99.