US Fighters, Drones Strike 3 Iranian Oil Tankers After Iran Fires on Navy Ships

The U.S. military struck three Iranian oil tankers on Sept. 5, as the Trump administration and Iran battle for control over the Strait of Hormuz. 

A mix of Air Force and Navy aircraft carried out the attacks, including both fighters and drones, U.S. officials told Air & Space Forces Magazine. The attack followed an unsuccessful Iranian ballistic missile attack on a U.S. aircraft carrier and a guided-missile destroyer. Neither U.S. ship was hit.

“Let the message to the IRGC be clear,” said Adm. Brad Cooper, the CENTCOM commander, referring to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. “If you shoot at our ships, we will impose an even higher economic cost—take out three of yours.”

Cooper’s statement continued: “We will not hesitate to defend American forces, and if necessary, destroy Iran’s limited and exposed oil fleet.”

The three Iranian tankers included M/T Downy, which was hit near Kharg Island, and the M/T Stark 1, which was struck near Jask, a coastal city in Iran. The M/T Downy and M/T Stark 1 were “permanently disabled,” according to CENTCOM. The third Iranian tanker, M/T Kylo, was hit in the Gulf of Oman. Struck in multiple locations, that tanker was rendered inoperable and “completely destroyed,” according to CENTCOM. It later sank. The Iranian crew was warned that it should abandon ship before the strike, the command said. CENTCOM released a video of the attacks on the ships and the sinking of the M/T Kylo.

The M/T Downy and M/T Stark 1 were impacted by weapons fired at the stern of the ship, while the M/T Kylo suffered more significant bombardment.

The U.S. attacks on the Iranian oil tankers are part of a new Trump administration policy to deter Iranian attacks on U.S. military forces and commercial vessels. Previously, the U.S. had focused its attacks on Iranian military targets, such as radars and surface-to-air missiles. 

Iran’s foreign ministry called the attacks on oil tankers a “war crime” intended to further America’s “economic war” on the Iranian homeland. Cooper said the attacks on Iran’s oil carriers are justified because they generate revenue for the IRGC. 

The IRGC said in its own statement that it would follow suit and that it targeted “three oil tankers traveling through an unauthorized route in the Strait of Hormuz, as well as three vessels affiliated with the United States in other areas.”

The U.S. is seeking to use economic sanctions and a blockade to pressure Iran to give up its attempt to control international shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and to agree to limits on its nuclear program.