U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) on Saturday announced that two Iranian oil tankers were disabled by U.S. airstrikes, and a third was “completely destroyed.” One of the tankers was struck near Iran’s primary oil loading facility at Kharg Island, confirming reports of explosions near the island by Iranian state media.
CENTCOM said the strikes were conducted in response to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a designated terrorist organization, launching ballistic missiles at U.S. Navy warships on patrol in “regional waters.”
“A U.S. aircraft carrier and guided-missile destroyer successfully evaded multiple unprovoked Iranian attacks. No American personnel were harmed,” CENTCOM said.
U.S. forces responded by “permanently disabling” the Iranian oil carriers MT Downy, located off the coast of Kharg Island, and MT Stark 1, which was struck near the Iranian coastal city of Jask.
In addition, U.S. forces “completely destroyed” the unladen crude oil carrier MT Kylo in the Gulf of Oman.
CENTCOM said the Kylo, which is also known as the MT Noxen, was struck in “multiple critical locations to render it inoperable after the crew was directed to abandon ship.”
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