US destroys Iranian oil tankers after reported missile threat

Photo — Oleksiy Yeshtokyn,🌻🇺🇦🌻 / Pexels

According to multiple international outlets, the US military says its forces struck and destroyed three Iranian crude oil tankers after Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps reportedly launched ballistic missiles toward two US Navy warships in the region. US Central Command has framed the action as a defensive response, with its commander warning that Washington is prepared to impose an "even higher economic cost" on Tehran and will not hesitate to protect American forces and interests. The tankers were linked to Iran’s critical oil export infrastructure, and separate reports describe a US missile hitting an oil tanker near Kharg Island, a strategic terminal that handles the vast majority of Iran’s crude shipments. This episode comes against the backdrop of an ongoing war between the US and Iran, concurrent regional flashpoints in Lebanon and Yemen, and heightening concern that tit-for-tat strikes on energy assets could destabilize global oil markets and draw in other regional actors.

Sources: BBC, Yeni Safak, Anadolu Agency, NewsNow