The US Central Command, or CENTCOM, said Wednesday that its forces had destroyed five Iranian oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman and near Kharg Island, in response to what it said were two attempts by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to target a US warship with ballistic missiles over two days.
Five tankers targeted in the US operation
According to the statement, the US warship evaded both attacks and continued patrolling territorial waters without any injuries among its crew. The statement did not provide details about the vessel’s identity or the locations of the two attempts to target it.
CENTCOM added that US forces instructed the tankers’ crews to leave the vessels before targeting and disabling them, without providing information about the crews’ fate or the extent of the damage caused by the operation.
CENTCOM accuses Iran of operating a “shadow fleet”
The US command accused Iran of using the tankers as part of what it described as a “shadow fleet” worth billions of dollars to fund the Revolutionary Guard and its proxies in the region. It also said Iran had no means of defending the vessels.
CENTCOM said the US military had previously destroyed three Iranian oil tankers on 5 September, following what it said was an attempt by the Revolutionary Guard to target a US aircraft carrier and destroyer.
