The U.S. military disabled two Iranian oil tankers and destroyed a third on Saturday. This action followed ballistic missile attacks targeting American warships in the region.
Two disabled and one destroyed: The Saturday strikes on Iran's shadow fleet
The U.S. military targeted three Iranian oil tankers in separate locations: one off Kharg Island, another near Jask east of the Strait of Hormuz, and an unladen vessel in the Gulf of Oman. According to the report, two of these carriers were permanently disabled, while the unladen tanker was completely destroyed. The U.S. military described these vessels as part of a shadow network used to provide funding for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and its various armed proxies.
Iranian state media confirmed that crews had evacuated the vessels, while the U.S. statement noted that the crew of the destroyed unladen ship were directed to abandon ship. Iranian state television specifically reported that four U.S. missiles struck the tanker located approximately 10 kilometres from Kharg Island, a critical terminal for Iranian oil exports.
Ballistic missiles target a U.S. aircraft carrier and destroyer
These naval strikes were a direct response to unprovoked Iranian ballistic missile attacks. As the report says, an American aircraft carrier and a destroyer managed to evade multiple attacks while patrolling the region. No U.S. personnel were injured during the exchange, but the aggression prompted a swift retaliatory strkie against Iran's maritime assets.
Adm. Brad Cooper,the head of U.S. Central Command, stated that the military would not hesitate to defend American forces. He further warned that the U.S. is prepared to destroy Iran’s limited and exposed oil fleet if necessary to ensure the safety of U.S. personnel.
The wedding bombardment and the injuries of Masoumeh Zarei
The current escalation follows a week of intense violence in southern Iran, where a U.S. bombardment resulted in at least five deaths. One specific strike hit a wedding celebration, causing significant civilian casualties. Among the wounded was 13-year-old Masoumeh Zarei, who suffered abdominal injuries after a telecommunications tower was struck.
Another youth, 14-year-old Kiana Karimi, remains in intensive care after witnessing five explosions during the same series of attacks. These civilian casualties have led the Iranian Foreign Ministry to label the U.S. actions as war crimes, warning that Washington and its allies will bear the consequences of continued aggression.
The collapsed mid-June memorandum and the battle for the Strait of Hormuz
This conflict is part of a broader six-month cycle of violence that began with U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran on February 28. While President Donald Trump recently characterized the conflict as "small potatoes," the situation has deteriorated since negotiations collapsed following a memorandum of understanding signed in mid-June. The failure of these talks has left the nuclear issue unresolved and sihfted the conflict toward economic and military attrition.
Tehran has increasingly used the Strait of Hormuz as strategic leverage, asserting control over a route vital for global natural gas and oil shipments .. while the U.S. military continues to guide ships through the strait, overall traffic has remained low as Iran targets vessels and the U.S. maintains a presence to prevent a total blockade.
The unknown total of tankers lost in the U.S. blockade
Despite the detailed reporting on Saturday's strikes, the exact scale of the maritime losses remains unclear. It is not immediately known how many total Iranian oil tankers have been targeted or disabled throughout the conflict, given the combination of dirrect strikes and the ongoing U.S. blockade of Iranian ports.
This ambiguity persists despite previous documented actions, such as the May 8 incident where the U.S. military fired precision munitions into the smokestacks of two unladen Iranian tankers. Furthermore, the exact timing of when the Iranian ballistic missiles were fired on Saturday has not been clarified in the official statements.
Comments 0