Tehran/Washington, Sept 9. (dpa/GNA) – The US military struck five Iranian crude oil carriers on Tuesday, stating it was in response to missiles launched at a US naval ship by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) twice over the past two days.
“The U.S. warship successfully evaded the attempted Iranian attacks, and continued to patrol regional waters. No American personnel were harmed,” the regional command CENTCOM said.
In response to the Iranian attacks, CENTCOM had “destroyed” four crude oil carriers in the Gulf of Oman, and a fifth near Kharg Island. “American forces directed the crews to abandon ship before the vessels were struck and rendered inoperable,” CENTCOM said.
The tankers were “part of a multibillion-dollar shadow network that funds the IRGC and its regional proxies,” it said. One of the tankers had since sunk, CENTCOM said in an update.
A video showed the ship being hit, catching fire and sinking bow first. Jordan meanwhile said it had intercepted fresh attacks from Iran, after Tehran announced further strikes on US military bases in the region. Jordan had intercepted and destroyed 18 ballistic missiles fired from Iran, while two others crashed in remote areas, state news agency Petra reported. No injuries were reported.
Iran’s IRGC said, it had targeted the US military base Al-Azraq, in retaliation for earlier US attacks on oil tankers, the Fars news agency reported. According to the Iranian news agency Tasnim, several explosions occurred at two US bases in Jordan. Neither the US military nor Jordanian authorities confirmed the reports.
In a later statement on Wednesday, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards also said they had attacked ships in the Strait of Hormuz region, including US vessels, tankers and cargo ships that had violated Iranian shipping rules in the strategic waterway. The claims could not be independently verified.
Earlier, Iranian media reported several explosions on the island of Kharg and near the port city of Jask on the Strait of Hormuz. Explosions were heard in several parts of Kharg, including the port area, the government-aligned Mehr news agency reported. Explosions were also heard near the port city of Jask in south-eastern Iran on the Strait of Hormuz, the Fars news agency reported.
Kharg is Iran’s most important oil export terminal, with a large share of the country’s oil production shipped from the island. Because of its strategic importance, Kharg was repeatedly targeted during the Iran-Iraq War from 1980 to 1988.
The Strait of Hormuz is a key flashpoint in the war between Washington and Tehran. Iran continues to largely obstruct shipping through the strait with threats and attacks on vessels.
The waterway, which was open to shipping before the war, is globally important for transporting oil, natural gas, and fertilizers.
The US is seeking to increase pressure on Tehran through a naval blockade of Iranian ports.
The two sides have repeatedly exchanged fire in recent weeks.
GNA