US Strikes Iranian Tankers in Strait of Hormuz Under Trump's 'Tanker-for-Tanker' Policy

US military forces have launched strikes against two Iranian government tankers in the Strait of Hormuz under President Donald Trump's 'tanker-for-tanker' policy. The operation aimed to deter Iran from attacking commercial shipping vessels traveling through the critical waterway.

A US official confirmed that President Trump had approved the new policy, which involves retaliatory strikes against Iranian targets for any attacks on tankers in the Strait of Hormuz. As a result, US drones fired missiles at the engine rooms of the two tanker ships, disabling them.

Iran responded with force, launching 25 ballistic missiles towards US bases in Jordan and other regional targets. However, according to US officials, about half of these missiles reached Jordanian airspace, while 10 were intercepted by air defense systems, and three landed without causing casualties.

Despite the heightened tensions, oil markets remained stable, with millions of barrels of oil passing through the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday without incident. The American Petroleum Institute reported a 2.6 million barrel draw in US oil inventories, while another 3.1 million barrels were drawn from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to aid commercial inventories.

Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei condemned the US strikes as 'barbarism' and warned that Tehran would respond firmly to any further aggression. He accused countries of normalizing and whitewashing unlawful attacks, saying their silence is not neutrality.