U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) called the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ (IRGC) claim that it targeted two American destroyers in regional waters “completely false.”
CENTCOM announced on Wednesday, September 9, that no U.S. Navy warships were hit and that all IRGC attempts to strike these vessels were defeated.
The command also declared that U.S. forces destroyed 10 Iranian-linked oil tankers over the past week. According to CENTCOM, these tankers were part of a multi-billion-dollar “shadow fleet” network whose petroleum transport revenue directly funded the IRGC.
U.S. forces targeted five tankers carrying Iranian oil on Tuesday evening. CENTCOM stated that these strikes were carried out in direct response to IRGC missile attempts against an American warship. Five other oil tankers had been targeted by U.S. strikes in the preceding days.
The IRGC claimed on Wednesday that it targeted and damaged two U.S. destroyers, eight oil tankers, and 10 other vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.
