US Destroys Five Iranian Oil Tankers After IRGC Attacks
US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced that it destroyed five Iranian crude oil carriers in response to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' (IRGC) attacks on a US Navy warship. The IRGC fired ballistic missiles at the warship twice over the past two days, but the ship successfully evaded both attacks.
CENTCOM stated that US forces struck the vessels after identifying them as part of a multibillion-dollar 'shadow fleet' used by Iran to fund the IRGC and its regional proxy groups. The targeted ships were identified as M/T Kaviz, M/T Charminar, M/T Horizon 1, M/T Riesco in the Gulf of Oman, along with M/T Derya near Iran's Kharg Island.
The crews of the vessels were ordered to abandon ship before the strikes, rendering them inoperable. This marks another escalation in tensions between Washington and Tehran, with Iran reportedly threatening retaliation against oil tankers operating near ports in Kuwait and Bahrain.