US and Iranian forces exchanged fire on vessels in waters around Iran on Saturday, with American forces striking three Iranian oil carriers and Iran targeting tankers it said were using unauthorized routes through the Strait of Hormuz.
Strikes Follow IRGC Missile Attack
US Central Command said it struck three Iranian vessels, including one off Kharg Island near Iran’s main oil export hub, after Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps launched ballistic missiles at two US Navy ships, according to the Business Standard. No American personnel were harmed, CENTCOM said.
“Let the message to the IRGC be clear: If you shoot at two of our ships, we will impose an even higher economic cost, taking out three of yours,” said Admiral Brad Cooper, head of US Central Command.
Iran Vows Further Retaliation
The IRGC responded by threatening intensified strikes on US military vessels and said it had separately targeted three tankers along with three US-linked vessels elsewhere in the region, according to AsiaOne. Iran’s Tasnim news agency reported that four US missiles struck a tanker near Kharg’s anchorage, with the crew evacuated and no casualties reported.
“Do not be deceived by the terrorist US military and refrain from any suspicious movement aimed at passing through unauthorized waterways,” the IRGC Navy said in a statement carried on Iranian state television. “Otherwise, you will be targeted.”
Part of a Long Running Blockade Standoff
The exchange is the latest escalation since the US imposed a naval blockade on Iranian oil exports in mid-April, after Iran effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway that has historically carried roughly a fifth of the world’s oil supply, according to Al-Monitor.
President Trump has previously floated a strike on Kharg Island, and a further US attack there would add significant pressure on Iran’s oil industry and broader economy, which has already been strained by months of blockade.
Neither side has signaled willingness to de-escalate. The exchange marks one of the more direct military confrontations between the two countries since the war began in February, and analysts say further strikes on Kharg Island specifically could sharply raise the stakes given its central role in Iran’s oil export economy.
