U.S. forces struck three Iranian crude oil carriers Saturday after U.S. Central Command said the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps launched ballistic missiles toward two Navy warships in the region.
CENTCOM said it permanently disabled one crude oil carrier off the coast of Kharg Island and another near Jask. A third oil tanker was attacked in the Gulf of Oman.
The strikes came after CENTCOM said the Revolutionary Guard launched ballistic missiles toward two U.S. Navy warships patrolling the region. A U.S. aircraft carrier and a guided-missile destroyer successfully evaded multiple attacks, and no American personnel were harmed, CENTCOM said.
Iran's Foreign Ministry condemned the strikes on the oil tankers as an "act of aggression" and accused Washington of violating international law through what it called an ongoing military campaign, naval blockade and economic war against the country. The ministry said Iran would defend its sovereignty and warned that responsibility for any further escalation would rest with the United States and its allies, according to a statement.
The Revolutionary Guard's naval forces said separately that they struck a U.S. Navy drone attempting to enter the Strait of Hormuz, according to a statement carried by Iranian state broadcaster IRIB.
A spokesperson for Iran's Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, the country's central military command, warned that if the U.S. continues what Tehran describes as a naval blockade and harassment of Iranian vessels, Iran would carry out more severe and potentially expanded strikes targeting American warships, according to a statement carried by IRIB.
Iran is the third-largest producer in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and exported 90% of its crude via Kharg Island before the war. Flows have been disrupted by a U.S. blockade of Iranian oil exports that began in mid-April.
The conflict between Iran and the U.S. has effectively shut the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway for the world's oil supply before the war.
President Donald Trump threatened in June to seize Kharg Island as the U.S. continued military strikes against Iran. Most recently, on Aug. 31, he posted an artificial intelligence-generated video depicting Kharg Island being destroyed.
The strike on the oil tankers came a day after the Treasury Department announced sanctions against a small Turkish investment bank and two of its subsidiaries, which the U.S. accuses of facilitating funds for an arm of Iran's Revolutionary Guard.
The Treasury alleges that Golden Global Yatirim Bankasi Anonim Sirketi and its subsidiaries, Golden Global Varlik Kiralama Anonim Sirketi and Golden Global Portfoy Yonetimi Anonim Sirketi, were established to enable Iran's rahbar network to transfer oil revenues from China to Turkey, where the funds could be converted to cash and gold by rahbar money exchangers.
Golden Global Bank is the second major financial institution targeted under "Operation Economic Outcast," an effort by the Trump administration to isolate Tehran through non-military actions by sanctioning its business partners.
