US destroys five Iranian oil tankers near Kharg Island
Washington: The United States military has destroyed five Iranian crude oil tankers after Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) twice targeted an American warship with ballistic missiles, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said.
The strikes were carried out Tuesday (Local time) in the Gulf of Oman and near Iran’s Kharg Island, an important hub for the country’s oil exports.
CENTCOM said the American warship successfully evaded both attempted attacks, which occurred over the previous two days. No US personnel were injured.
The military command identified the tankers destroyed in the Gulf of Oman as M/T Kaviz, M/T Charminar, M/T Horizon 1 and M/T Riesco. A fifth tanker, M/T Derya, was attacked near Kharg Island.
US forces instructed the crews to abandon the ships before striking them and rendering the vessels inoperable, according to CENTCOM. The military did not report any casualties among the tanker crews.
CENTCOM described the vessels as crude oil carriers operated by the IRGC and said they formed part of a multibillion-dollar network used to finance the Iranian military organisation and its regional proxies.
The US military did not disclose which American warship Iran allegedly targeted, where the attempted attacks occurred or how many ballistic missiles were fired.
The latest operation marked the second US attack on Iranian oil tankers in four days.
On September 5, CENTCOM forces destroyed three Iranian crude oil carriers after the IRGC attempted to attack a US aircraft carrier and a guided-missile destroyer.
Kharg Island, located in the Persian Gulf, has historically served as the principal terminal for a large share of Iran’s seaborne crude oil exports. Military activity near the island could heighten concern about the security of commercial shipping and energy supplies in the region.
Any sustained disruption to shipping through the region could affect tanker insurance, freight costs and global oil prices, with potential consequences for India, which depends heavily on imported crude oil.