U.S. Military strikes Iranian oil tankers: Is this the start of a new escalation?

By Easton Martin | September 9, 2026

The United States military struck and destroyed five Iranian crude oil tankers across regional waterways on Tuesday, executing retaliatory strikes after Iranian forces launched ballistic missiles at an American naval warship twice over a two-day span.

U.S. Central Command confirmed that American air and naval assets targeted the vessels in the Gulf of Oman and near Kharg Island, which functions as Iran’s primary terminal for crude oil exports. Military officials identified the hit vessels as the M/T Kaviz, M/T Charminar, M/T Horizon 1, and M/T Riesco in the Gulf of Oman, along with the M/T Derya near Kharg Island. CENTCOM reported that all targeted tankers belonged to a shadow maritime network financing the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. U.S. forces issued direct evacuation orders to the tanker crews before deploying munitions, permanently disabling the ships without causing crew casualties.

The retaliatory strikes followed failed Iranian missile attacks aimed directly at a U.S. Navy warship patrolling the area. CENTCOM confirmed the targeted American vessel evaded all incoming fire without sustaining damage or personnel injuries. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated during an official trip that Washington will systematically destroy Iranian tankers whenever Tehran attempts to strike American naval assets.

Tehran launched immediate counterstrikes following the loss of the vessels. The IRGC fired 20 ballistic missiles toward the Al Azraq air base in Jordan, where American personnel are stationed. Jordanian air defense systems intercepted 18 of the incoming missiles, while the remaining two fell in uninhabited desert sectors with no reported casualties.

Simultaneously, the IRGC Navy issued public warnings instructing commercial crews in Bahraini and Kuwaiti ports to abandon their tankers immediately, threatening preemptive strikes against allied shipping infrastructure.