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The war between the United States and Iran has torn back into open hostilities this week, with American forces destroying five Iranian oil tankers and Tehran firing a barrage of ballistic missiles at a US-linked base in Jordan and claiming attacks on ten ships near the Strait of Hormuz. The exchange marks one of the most intense bursts of fighting since the conflict began more than six months ago, and has pushed oil prices toward the $100-a-barrel mark.
US Central Command Sinks Five Tankers Linked To Iran’s Revolutionary Guard
US Central Command (CENTCOM) said on Tuesday, 8 September, that it had struck and destroyed five crude oil carriers linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), after the IRGC twice attempted to hit a US Navy warship with ballistic missiles over the preceding two days.
CENTCOM identified the five vessels as the M/T Kivik, M/T Charminar, M/T Horizon 1 and M/T Riesco — all struck in the Gulf of Oman — along with the M/T Derya, which was hit near Kharg Island in the Strait of Hormuz, Iran’s most important crude oil export terminal. The American military said the crews of all five tankers were ordered to abandon ship before the vessels were attacked and “rendered inoperable,” and that no casualties were reported among the crews.
“CENTCOM destroyed the IRGC crude oil carriers M/T Kivik, M/T Charminar, M/T Horizon 1, and M/T Riesco in the Gulf of Oman as well as M/T Derya near Kharg Island,” the command said in a statement, describing the vessels as ships controlled by the IRGC. CENTCOM released video footage showing several of the tankers engulfed in flames after the strikes.
The US military said the ships were part of what it called a “multibillion-dollar shadow network that funds the IRGC and its regional proxies,” and issued a stark warning to Tehran: “Iran has no means by which to defend these vessels.” CENTCOM added that the targeted US warship “successfully evaded” both Iranian missile attempts and suffered no damage, with no American personnel injured.
Iranian state television confirmed the strikes, reporting that tankers were hit near the southern port of Jask and in the anchorage area off Kharg Island. A state TV reporter in Jask said one tanker was struck near the coast, with a second vessel hit shortly afterward in the same waters, while a further tanker was targeted near the Kharg Island anchorage. Iranian broadcasters said all crew members had already been evacuated from the vessels before they were hit.
Tuesday’s strikes were the second time in less than a week that the US military targeted Iran’s tanker fleet. On Saturday, 5 September, CENTCOM said it had struck three Iranian oil tankers after the IRGC launched ballistic missiles toward two US Navy warships — an aircraft carrier and a guided-missile destroyer — patrolling the region. Both American vessels evaded the attacks unharmed, and CENTCOM said it “permanently disabled” two of the tankers, identified as the M/T Downy off the coast of Kharg Island and the M/T Stark 1 near Jask, while a third vessel, the M/T Kylo — also known as the “Noxen” — was completely destroyed in the Gulf of Oman.
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a blunt warning on social media after Saturday’s strikes, writing: “It’s simple: if Iran shoots at U.S. ships, we will destroy (and sink) their oil tankers. All they have to do is stop shooting at @USNavy.” Hegseth added that Iran’s tanker fleet was “defenseless,” noting that “Iran has no navy or air force.”
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard responded to Saturday’s strikes by claiming it had attacked three oil tankers and three vessels it described as “affiliated with the child-killing America” in the Strait of Hormuz, warning other ships against using shipping routes Tehran has not authorised.
Iran responded to Tuesday’s tanker strikes with a sharp escalation of its own. The IRGC said it fired ballistic missiles at a base near Al-Azraq in Jordan used by US forces, and separately claimed to have attacked ten ships — including two US-linked vessels and eight oil tankers — that it said were attempting to cross a “prohibited and unsafe” area of the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry condemned the American strikes on its tankers, saying in a statement: “In response to the US’s aggressive actions against Iranian oil tankers, armed forces, in accordance with their inherent right of legitimate defence, attacked US military bases and facilities located in Jordan.”
Jordan’s Armed Forces said its air defence systems intercepted 18 of the 20 ballistic missiles fired at the Al-Azraq area, with the remaining two missiles falling in unpopulated areas. Jordanian authorities confirmed there were no casualties or reports of significant damage. A US official said the Iranian strikes on Jordan were “ineffective” and confirmed all American troops in the country were accounted for.
Jordan has been targeted repeatedly by Iran and Iran-aligned forces during the six-month war, including a July strike that killed at least two US military personnel stationed in the kingdom.
Separately, maritime monitor UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) reported an attack on a cargo ship roughly 52km (28 nautical miles) southeast of al-Faw, Iraq, saying the vessel was struck by a projectile. The IRGC also claimed additional ballistic missile attacks on US-linked targets in Bahrain overnight, a claim CENTCOM has disputed.
Oil Prices Surge Toward $100 A Barrel
The renewed round of tanker strikes and retaliatory attacks sent global oil markets sharply higher, with Brent crude briefly pushing above the $100-a-barrel mark in early trading on Wednesday, 9 September, as traders weighed the growing risk to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz — the narrow waterway through which roughly a fifth of the world’s oil once passed before the war began.
The escalation follows a month-long lull in direct fighting that had allowed prices to stabilise somewhat, but this week’s exchange of strikes has reignited fears that the conflict could spiral into a broader confrontation, further disrupting global energy supplies.
Background: A War Approaching Its Seventh Month
The war between the United States, Israel and Iran began on 28 February 2026, when President Donald Trump announced “major combat operations” against Tehran, launching coordinated US-Israeli strikes on Iranian military, government and infrastructure sites. Delegations from Washington and Tehran entered negotiations in June aimed at a war-ending agreement based on a signed memorandum of understanding, but the two sides have continued to trade strikes ever since, with the Strait of Hormuz emerging as the conflict’s central flashpoint.
Iran has moved to enforce closure of the strait to shipping it has not authorised, while the United States has enforced a naval blockade on Iranian ports. Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, said over the weekend that Tehran would establish a further restricted zone outside the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump had sought to downplay the conflict just days before this week’s escalation, describing it as “small potatoes” and “very intermittent.” The Trump administration has simultaneously ramped up economic pressure on Iran, announcing new sanctions this week on more than two dozen commercial and private airlines and foreign cargo service providers as part of a broader push to isolate Tehran from its remaining trading partners.
With both sides continuing to trade strikes and Iran vowing further retaliation, analysts warn that the risk of a wider escalation around the Strait of Hormuz remains high, with global oil markets likely to stay volatile in the days ahead.
