US Strikes Five Iranian Oil Tankers in Escalating Middle East Conflict

The U.S. military has struck five Iranian crude oil tankers in response to an attack by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on two American warships.

The strikes occurred after the IRGC launched ballistic missiles at a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier and a guided-missile destroyer over two consecutive days, with both ships successfully evading the missiles and no American service members being injured.

According to CENTCOM, the crew of one of the tankers, the M/T Kylo, was warned to abandon ship before the strike. The M/T Downy and M/T Stark 1 were permanently disabled, while the M/T Kylo was completely destroyed in the first wave of strikes on September 5.

Admiral Brad Cooper, CENTCOM commander, stated that if Iran shoots at American ships, the U.S. will impose an even higher economic cost by taking out more Iranian vessels. The targeted tankers were part of a multibillion-dollar shadow shipping network used to fund the IRGC and its regional allies.