US strikes Iranian tankers as Tehran threatens Gulf vessels

TEHRAN, Iran (MNTV) — The United States has struck multiple Iranian oil tankers near Kharg Island in the Strait of Hormuz, prompting Tehran to threaten vessels operating near ports in Bahrain and Kuwait and further escalating Washington’s widening military campaign against Iran.

CNN reported, citing two US officials, that American forces targeted the tankers near Kharg Island.

One official said the vessels were linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and that the attacks were carried out in response to attempted missile strikes against a US Navy warship.

The strikes represent a further expansion of Washington’s war, which has increasingly jeopardized the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz and Iran’s oil trade.

US forces have been conducting escort operations for commercial shipping while maintaining a naval blockade of Iranian ports, according to CNN.

The American strategy has actively turned one of the world’s most important energy corridors into another arena of the US-Iran confrontation, with commercial vessels increasingly exposed to military escalation.

Iran responded by warning oil tanker crews near ports in Bahrain and Kuwait to abandon their vessels, accusing the two Gulf states of hosting American forces and cooperating with Washington’s military campaign.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, quoted by Iranian state broadcaster IRIB, warned crews aboard tankers near the two countries’ ports to leave their ships whether they were anchored or docked, saying the vessels could otherwise become targets.

The threat raises the prospect of attacks extending beyond Iranian waters and placing international commercial shipping at greater risk across the Gulf.

One of the Iranian tankers targeted by US forces was reportedly located about four miles from Kharg Island, according to Iran’s semi-official Tasnim News Agency.

The island is a crucial center for Iran’s crude oil exports and therefore carries major strategic and economic importance.

IRIB reported that another tanker was struck off the coast of Jask and said crews from both vessels were being evacuated aboard lifeboats.

The latest attacks followed a separate US strike on an Iranian tanker over the weekend. That vessel was reportedly located about six miles from Kharg Island when it was targeted.

Kharg Island’s importance makes the repeated American attacks particularly consequential. The facility is a major outlet for Iranian oil exports, meaning that US military operations in its vicinity threaten not only Iran’s ability to move its petroleum but also the wider stability of global energy markets.

Washington has increasingly concentrated its operations around the Strait of Hormuz as part of what US officials describe as an effort to increase economic pressure on Iran’s leadership.

American forces have sought to restrict Iranian maritime activity while trying to facilitate the movement of commercial vessels through the waterway.

Critics of the campaign are likely to view the attacks as a dangerous escalation of economic warfare, particularly because oil tankers and other commercial vessels are now operating in an environment where military targeting can rapidly disrupt civilian maritime traffic.

The confrontation also demonstrates the consequences of Washington’s decision to rely increasingly on military force to impose war on Tehran.

Instead of containing the conflict, the attacks on Iranian tankers has broadened the battlefield and exposed ships belonging to third countries to retaliation.

Iran’s warning concerning Bahrain and Kuwait indicates that Tehran could respond by targeting vessels associated with states hosting US military forces, potentially creating a far wider maritime crisis.

The Strait of Hormuz is one of the world’s most strategically important shipping routes, carrying a substantial share of global oil supplies. Any sustained disruption could reverberate through international energy markets and raise shipping and insurance costs.

The escalating confrontation therefore risks transforming commercial shipping into a weapon and a target in a conflict increasingly driven by Washington’s attempts to squeeze Iran economically and militarily.

With US forces striking Iranian tankers near a major oil-export hub and Tehran threatening vessels near Gulf ports hosting American forces, the latest escalation threatens to push the regional conflict into an even more dangerous phase.