U.S. Forces Strike IRGC-linked Tankers Following Iranian Attacks

On Tuesday, U.S. forces destroyed five oil tankers linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) after Iran launched ballistic missile attacks against an American warship, fulfilling Washington’s warning that any continued aggression toward the U.S. Navy would lead to significant consequences for Iran’s oil fleet.

According to U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), the American warship successfully avoided both missile strikes in the past two days and maintained its patrols in the area, with no injuries reported among U.S. personnel.

In response to the attacks, U.S. forces targeted and destroyed four IRGC oil carriers — the M/T Kaviz, M/T Charminar, M/T Horizon 1, and M/T Riesco — in the Gulf of Oman, along with a fifth, the M/T Derya, near Kharg Island, which is Iran’s main oil-export center. Crew members were instructed to abandon the ships before they were hit and incapacitated.

CENTCOM indicated that these tankers were part of a vast clandestine network designed to finance the IRGC and its allies in the region, thereby cutting off another revenue stream for Tehran as the U.S. escalates efforts to economically isolate the regime.

“Iran has no means by which to defend these vessels,” the command stated.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio made the retaliatory stance clear on Tuesday, indicating that Tehran should anticipate losing oil tankers each time it attempts to strike U.S. naval forces.

“The back and forth is pretty straightforward,” he explained. “Iran keeps trying to hit U.S. naval vessels, and for every attempt, they’re going to lose tankers,” he told reporters.

He added, “I think you’ll see that happen again today.”

This operation occurred just a few days after Washington indicated that the policy of responding in kind would not limit retaliations to a one-for-one basis.

After the IRGC targeted a U.S. aircraft carrier and guided-missile destroyer on Saturday, American forces destroyed three Iranian oil carriers, with no damage to U.S. vessels.

CENTCOM Commander Adm. Brad Cooper warned that further assaults would lead to even harsher economic repercussions.

“If you shoot at two of our ships, we will impose an even higher economic cost—taking out three of yours,” Cooper stated.

He underscored a broader message: “We will not hesitate to protect American forces, and if needed, dismantle Iran’s limited and exposed oil fleet.”

Despite the U.S. actions, Iran targeted another American warship twice in the following days, resulting in the U.S. destroying five more tankers, totaling eight IRGC crude carriers dismantled or incapacitated since Saturday.

This escalating situation unfolds alongside a wider campaign by the Trump administration aimed at cutting off the oil revenues that support the Iranian regime.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent described Operation Economic Outcast as “the greatest economic isolation operation in the history of the world,” stating that the U.S. intends to “asphyxiate this regime.”

Bessent referred to the combination of a U.S. naval blockade and extensive sanctions as “one of the most powerful one-two punches in the history of economic isolation,” as U.S. forces block Iranian crude from reaching foreign markets while sanctions restrict Tehran’s access to necessary financial networks.

Energy Secretary Chris Wright expressed that the military’s main objective in the region is now to prevent Iranian oil and energy products from leaving the country.

“We are strangling their economy to encourage either a policy shift from the current regime or a change in regime,” Wright stated. “Their current strategy is slowly failing.”

Kharg Island is central to this pressure, as it has historically been Iran’s primary oil-export hub, facilitating around 90 percent of the country’s crude exports before conflict, and serving as storage for vast amounts of oil.

President Trump focused attention on the island recently, sharing images that depicted an attack on Kharg and emphasizing with a blunt warning: “Bye bye, Kharg.”

In response to the attacks on Tuesday, Iran threatened to escalate confrontations into neighboring Gulf states.

The IRGC Navy ordered tanker crews in Kuwaiti and Bahraini ports to abandon their ships immediately, claiming those countries, which host American forces, were complicit in the U.S. strikes.

This warning targeted tankers both docked and anchored offshore, according to reports from Iranian state media.

“They will be targeted,” the IRGC cautioned.

Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters also threatened actions against American bases and interests across the Middle East if assaults on Iranian vessels persisted.

IRGC Aerospace Force Commander Maj. Gen. Seyed Majid Mousavi took it further by warning that an attack on Iranian tankers would trigger “a domino chain of consequences” that only Tehran could halt.

Shortly thereafter, Iran launched a significant missile attack towards Jordan, where a large number of American troops are based, alongside several U.S. military installations.

Jordanian air defenses intercepted at least eight Iranian missiles targeting areas in Amman and other regions, according to reports. Iranian state media claimed that the assault aimed at the Muwaffaq Salti and Prince Hassan military bases.

Footage captured showed multiple interceptions in the skies above Jordan as missiles were directed towards the kingdom, with additional reports of projectiles near the Syrian border. Fortunately, no immediate casualties were reported.

This missile barrage came just hours after Tehran escalated its threats against American installations in retaliation for U.S. strikes, marking a significant intensification in the exchanges that began with Iran’s attempts to attack a U.S. warship.

Tuesday’s operation to destroy five tankers followed Saturday’s destruction of three Iranian vessels, pushing the total number of IRGC-linked tankers disabled or destroyed by American forces to eight over just four days.

Rubio reiterated on Tuesday that Washington plans to maintain this response each time Iran targets American naval forces. “For every time they do that or try to do that,” he emphasized, “they’re going to lose tankers.”