The United States announced this Saturday that it has sunk three oil tankers linked to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard in response to the missile attack against two U.S. warships operating near the Strait of Hormuz.
According to the military statement, U.S. forces have "permanently incapacitated" the Revolutionary Guard tankers 'M/T Downy', located near the island of Jarg, and 'M/T Stark 1', situated in the vicinity of Jask. In addition, they have "completely destroyed" the empty tanker 'M/T Kylo', also known as 'Noxen', in the Gulf of Oman through several strikes directed at "critical importance locations" to render it inoperable after previously ordering the crew to abandon the vessel.
The Pentagon frames this operation as a direct retaliation to the ballistic missile launch by the Revolutionary Guard against two U.S. Navy ships patrolling the region. "A U.S. aircraft carrier and a guided missile destroyer thwarted several unprovoked attacks from Iran. No U.S. military personnel were harmed," stated the U.S. Central Command.
Attacks on several ships in the area
The British maritime agency UKMTO, under the Royal Navy and specialized in monitoring incidents in the Strait of Hormuz, has reported the detection of two security incidents, one in the strategic passage itself and another in the northern Persian Gulf, near the island of Jark.
In its report, UKMTO mentions the presence of several vessels involved north of the coast of Oman and notes that various sources have reported attacks against several vessels in the area. The ships would have been subject to "neutralization fire."
According to U.S. Central Command, the three tankers destroyed in this retaliatory operation were part of Iran's "phantom network" used to generate revenue intended to finance the Revolutionary Guard. The statement emphasizes that the three vessels "had no means to defend themselves."
"Let the message to the Revolutionary Guard be clear: if you shoot at two of our ships, we will impose a greater economic cost and eliminate three of yours," warned the commander of the U.S. Central Command, Brad Cooper. "We will not hesitate to defend U.S. forces and, if necessary, destroy Iran's limited and vulnerable oil fleet.
The Strait of Hormuz remains a key strategic enclave, especially after Iran has blocked the transit of oil from the Persian Gulf in retaliation for the military actions of Israel and the United States.