The United States Central Command (CENTCOM) announced this Saturday the destruction of three oil tankers belonging to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) of Iran, in direct response to an attack with Iranian ballistic missiles against two U.S. Navy warships operating in regional waters.
According to the official statement published by CENTCOM on X, an aircraft carrier and a guided missile destroyer successfully evaded Iranian projectiles. No American personnel were injured.
After the failed attacks, CENTCOM forces permanently disabled the M/T Downy off the coast of Kharg Island and the M/T Stark 1 near Jask.
A third vessel, the M/T Kylo —also known as "Noxen"— was completely destroyed in the Gulf of Oman after its crew was ordered to abandon the ship.
CENTCOM described the three tankers as part of a multimillion-dollar clandestine network that funds the IRGC and its regional allies, emphasizing that Iran "has no means to defend them."
The doctrine emerging from the CENTCOM statement—destroying three Iranian ships for every two attacked American vessels—marks a new phase in the strategy of economic pressure on Tehran through its oil fleet.
Admiral Brad Cooper, commander of CENTCOM, issued a direct warning to the IRGC through a second message posted on X: "Let the message to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard be clear: if you attack two of our vessels, we will impose an even greater economic cost: we will destroy three of yours. We will not hesitate to defend U.S. forces, and if necessary, we will destroy Iran's limited and vulnerable oil fleet."
The episode occurs just six days after U.S. forces attacked IRGC rocket launchers on Larak Island in the Strait of Hormuz, destroying two launchers in what was the first military action in about a month.
The CGRI had promised retaliation after that attack; the launch of ballistic missiles this Saturday appears to be the realization of that threat.
The conflict between the two powers dates back to Operation Epic Fury, launched on February 28, 2026, by the U.S. and Israel, which destroyed more than 5,000 Iranian targets, including nuclear facilities.
After a ceasefire was signed in Switzerland in June 2026, the truce collapsed when Iran resumed attacks on commercial ships between July 6 and 7.
Trump declared the agreement "terminated" at NATO in Ankara, and Iran formally suspended it. The 60-day deadline of the memorandum expired on August 17 without a definitive agreement.
Since then, the U.S. has launched successive waves of attacks against Iran, impacting more than 300 Iranian military targets in less than a week during the second phase of the conflict.
The Treasury Department has sanctioned more than 170 vessels linked to the Iranian clandestine oil fleet throughout 2026.
The Strait of Hormuz, through which between 20% and 25% of the world's crude oil passes, has become the strategic epicenter of the confrontation.
Filed under: