Iran claims strikes on US vessels and oil tankers in retaliation for shipping attacks

Iran says its forces have attacked two US vessels and eight oil tankers in the Persian Gulf in retaliation for American strikes on Iranian shipping, marking a further escalation in the maritime conflict gripping the region.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said on Wednesday that the attacks caused “significant damage” and claimed another ten vessels were targeted after allegedly attempting, with US military assistance, to enter an area of the Strait of Hormuz that Tehran has declared unsafe and restricted. The claims have not been independently verified, and Washington has not immediately confirmed damage to US vessels.

The strikes followed an “urgent warning” from the IRGC Navy on Tuesday night instructing crews aboard tankers near ports and anchorages in Bahrain and Kuwait to leave their vessels. “We warn all crew members of the tankers in the vicinity of the docks of Kuwait and Bahrain… to immediately leave their vessels, whether at anchor or at the docks, as they will be targeted,” the command said. Tehran accused Bahrain and Kuwait of facilitating US military operations against Iranian shipping.

Footage subsequently circulated online appearing to show ballistic missiles being launched from several locations in Iran towards US military facilities across the region. Videos reportedly recorded in Jordan also showed heavy air-defence activity, with Patriot systems appearing to intercept incoming projectiles. Open-source intelligence accounts identified Muwaffaq Salti Air Base, east of Amman and used by US forces, as a possible major target, although reports of missile impacts and claims concerning the types of warheads involved have not been officially confirmed.

The latest Iranian action followed US strikes against Iranian oil shipping. US Central Command said American forces destroyed five Iranian crude carriers after the IRGC allegedly twice launched ballistic missiles at a US Navy warship during the preceding two days. According to CENTCOM, four tankers were attacked in the Gulf of Oman and another near Kharg Island, with crews ordered to abandon the vessels before they were disabled.

Those operations came after an earlier round of US attacks on Saturday, when CENTCOM said three Iranian crude carriers were struck following missile launches towards a US aircraft carrier and guided-missile destroyer. Two vessels were reportedly disabled, while a third, said to be carrying no oil, was destroyed after its crew evacuated. Iran later claimed retaliatory attacks against three tankers using what Tehran described as an unauthorised route through the Strait of Hormuz, along with three US-linked vessels elsewhere.

The increasingly intense maritime confrontation has emerged as a major front in the six-month conflict. Washington is maintaining a naval blockade restricting shipping to and from Iranian ports, while Tehran has imposed controls of its own over passage through the Strait of Hormuz and announced plans for another restricted maritime zone in the Persian Gulf. The economic stakes are considerable: before the conflict, roughly one-fifth of global oil supplies passed through Hormuz. Growing fears of disruption have pushed energy prices higher, with Brent crude approaching $100 a barrel and US benchmark West Texas Intermediate above $93 on Tuesday.