U.S. forces disabled three Iranian oil tankers on Saturday, September 5, 2026, after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps fired ballistic missiles at two U.S. Navy warships in the region. Admiral Brad Cooper, commander of U.S. Central Command, warned that the military will retaliate against Iran’s oil fleet if American vessels are targeted.
American military forces struck three Iranian oil vessels on Saturday following a direct missile attack on United States naval assets in the Middle East, according to statements released by U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM). The engagement marks a sharp intensification of hostilities following a period of relative calm in the six-month conflict, which first began with U.S. and Israeli operations on February 28, 2026. Both sides have sought to inflict both military and economic pain, and negotiations have collapsed.
The confrontation unfolded when Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps launched ballistic missiles targeting an American aircraft carrier and a guided-missile destroyer operating in the region. CENTCOM confirmed that both warships successfully evaded multiple unprovoked Iranian attacks and that no American military personnel suffered injuries. It was not clear when the Iranian missiles were fired.
CENTCOM Response Strikes Kharg Island and Jask Tankers
In retaliation for the missile assault, American forces targeted three vessels identified as part of a shadow network helping to fund Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guard and its armed proxies in the region. The military stated that two crude oil carriers were permanently disabled: the M/T Downy off the coast of Kharg Island and the M/T Stark 1 near Jask, east of the Strait of Hormuz. A third vessel, the unladen M/T Kylo near the Gulf of Oman, was destroyed after its crew was directed to abandon the vessel before American forces struck it in multiple locations. The U.S. shared what it called video footage of the strikes.
“If you shoot at two of our ships, we will impose an even higher economic cost — taking out three of yours,”
Adm. Brad Cooper, the commander of CENTCOM
Admiral Brad Cooper, the head of U.S. Central Command, further stated that U.S. forces will not hesitate to defend American forces and, if necessary, destroy Iran’s limited and exposed oil fleet.
Iranian state television had reported earlier that four U.S. missiles struck a tanker about 6 miles (10 kilometers) from Kharg Island, home to a terminal through which the country exports most of its oil. Tasnim, the semi-official Iranian news agency, reported that local sources stated there were no casualties and that the tanker’s crew was being evacuated. After the U.S. statement, Iran’s state broadcaster reported the two other tankers attacked, saying their crews had evacuated.
Strategic Importance of Kharg Island
The strikes center heavily on the strategic geography of Iran’s primary energy infrastructure. Kharg Island is a tiny but strategic island 15 miles off the coast of Iran in the Persian Gulf that plays a central role in the country’s oil industry. There are also military capabilities there, including air defenses and mines buried underground. Before the war, Iran exported 90% of its crude via Kharg Island.
The site has repeatedly emerged as a flashpoint during the conflict. U.S. forces struck military targets on the island in March but deliberately spared its oil infrastructure. U.S. President Donald Trump said on August 31 in a one-line social media post accompanied by an AI-generated video that Kharg Island was being blown to smithereens
. President Donald Trump said at the time that the U.S. could target the energy facilities if Iran continued interfering with shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, coming just a day after he sought to minimize the conflict as “small potatoes”. Iranian authorities have vowed a strong response if Kharg is attacked. Petras Katinas, a research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, previously told NBC News that Kharg is the “backbone” of Iran’s oil trade infrastructure and the primary gateway for the country’s oil reserves.
Iranian Condemnation and Regional Threats
Tehran reacted sharply to the American maritime operation. Iran’s Foreign Ministry strongly condemned the U.S. strikes, calling them illegal and aggressive
and accusing Washington of waging a naval blockade and economic war against Iran. In a statement carried by Iranian state media IRIB, the ministry said the attacks violated the United Nations Charter and constituted a war crime and a threat to international peace and commercial shipping.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson with Iran’s joint military command and state broadcaster reported a warning that strikes against U.S. military ships would be more severe if the U.S. continues to interfere with Iranian shipping. The military command posted on state media that if the evil, insecurity and harassment of Iranian ships and the naval blockade of Iran continue, the strikes of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s armed forces against U.S. military vessels in the region will be more severe than before and there is a possibility of their expansion.
Security analysts pointed out that targeting a U.S. aircraft carrier with a ballistic missile indicates that Tehran is becoming increasingly willing to accept risks it previously sought to avoid, including directly threatening some of the most important U.S. military assets in the region, as noted by Danny Citrinowicz, an Iran expert at Israel’s Institute for National Security Studies, on X. Experts called the event a dangerous escalation after Iran’s previous attacks at sea targeted commercial shipping, further deepening a conflict that has disrupted global energy supplies and drawn opposition from a majority of Americans before congressional elections in November.
Related reading