U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) on Saturday announced that two Iranian oil tankers were disabled by U.S. airstrikes, and a third was “completely destroyed.” One of the tankers was struck near Iran’s primary oil loading facility at Kharg Island, confirming reports of explosions near the island by Iranian state media.
CENTCOM said the strikes were conducted in response to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a designated terrorist organization, launching ballistic missiles at U.S. Navy warships on patrol in “regional waters.”
“A U.S. aircraft carrier and guided-missile destroyer successfully evaded multiple unprovoked Iranian attacks. No American personnel were harmed,” CENTCOM said.
U.S. forces responded by “permanently disabling” the Iranian oil carriers MT Downy, located off the coast of Kharg Island, and MT Stark 1, which was struck near the Iranian coastal city of Jask.
In addition, U.S. forces “completely destroyed” the unladen crude oil carrier MT Kylo in the Gulf of Oman.
CENTCOM said the Kylo, which is also known as the MT Noxen, was struck in “multiple critical locations to render it inoperable after the crew was directed to abandon ship.”
“The three Iranian crude oil tankers are part of a multibillion-dollar shadow network that funds the IRGC and its regional proxies. Iran has no means by which to defend them,” the statement noted.
“Let the message to the IRGC be clear: If you shoot at two of our ships, we will impose an even higher economic cost — taking out three of yours,” said CENTCOM commander Adm. Brad Cooper.
“We will not hesitate to defend American forces, and if necessary, destroy Iran’s limited and exposed oil fleet,” he added.
Iran’s state-run Tasnim news agency reported earlier on Saturday that explosions were heard near Kharg Island, and an oil tanker — presumably the Downy — was hit by four U.S. missiles. Tasnim said there were no casualties reported from the strikes.
The two U.S. carriers currently deployed in the region are the USS George H.W. Bush and USS George Washington, which relieved the USS Abraham Lincoln two weeks ago. The George Washington is reportedly sailing with a single destroyer escort at the moment, so they might have been the ships targeted by Iranian ballistic missiles.
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