U.S. forces struck three Iranian oil tankers on Saturday after Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps fired ballistic missiles at two American naval vessels, U.S. Central Command said.
One of the tankers was hit off Kharg Island, home to Iran’s main oil export terminal. Central Command said no American personnel were harmed in the Iranian attack.
Admiral Brad Cooper, who heads Central Command, described the strikes as retaliation intended to impose a greater economic cost on Iran for targeting U.S. ships.
Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency earlier reported that four American missiles had struck a tanker near Kharg’s anchorage. Citing local sources, it said no casualties had been reported and the crew was being evacuated.
That report concerned the tanker near Kharg, rather than all three vessels identified by the U.S. military. Iranian authorities made no immediate official announcement.
The exchange adds to a week of escalating tensions in a conflict that began with U.S. strikes on Iran in February. The war has disrupted global energy supplies and faces opposition from a majority of Americans ahead of November’s congressional elections.
Kharg Island has been a recurring focus of U.S. threats. Before the war, it handled about 90% of crude exports from Iran, OPEC’s third-largest producer.
On August 31, President Donald Trump posted an AI-generated video on social media alongside a claim that the island was being “blown to smithereens.” Iranian authorities have pledged a strong response to any attack on Kharg.
Trump had said on June 11 that he wanted to take control of the island, before subsequently putting a threatened military operation on hold. Tehran and Washington signed an interim agreement aimed at ending the war on June 17.
Iran’s oil shipments have already been disrupted by a U.S. naval blockade imposed in mid-April. Washington introduced the blockade after Tehran effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, which carried roughly one-fifth of global oil supplies before the conflict.
An attack on Kharg’s export infrastructure would put further pressure on Iran’s oil industry and its wider economy.
Renewed fears over Middle Eastern supply helped push Brent crude futures to $96.28 a barrel on Friday, their highest closing level since July 24.
