United States Central Command (CENTCOM) announced that U.S. forces targeted and incapacitated five tankers carrying Iranian crude oil in the Sea of Oman and near Kharg Island.
According to the CENTCOM statement, these strikes were carried out on Tuesday, September 8, in response to two Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) missile attacks directed at a U.S. warship over the preceding two days.
CENTCOM claimed that the American warship successfully evaded the IRGC’s ballistic missiles and continues to patrol regional waters. No U.S. personnel were injured in the engagements.
The U.S. military targeted the tankers Kaviz, Charminar, Horizon 1, and Risco in the Sea of Oman, alongside the tanker Darya near Kharg Island. According to CENTCOM, American forces ordered crews to abandon the vessels before the strikes, rendering the tankers disabled.
In the early hours of Wednesday, September 9, CENTCOM released video footage depicting the strike on and subsequent sinking of the tanker Risco in the Sea of Oman. The command asserted that the Islamic Republic utilized these targeted tankers as part of a multi-billion-dollar network to covertly sell oil and fund the IRGC and its regional proxies.
