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The US military said it struck three Iranian crude oil tankers after Iran launched missiles against two US Navy warships, as the battle for control of the Strait of Hormuz between Washington and Tehran continued to escalate.
US Central Command, which oversees American military operations in the Middle East, said on Saturday that a US aircraft carrier and a guided-missile destroyer had “evaded” an attack by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and that no US troops were harmed.
In retaliation, the US “permanently disabled” the M/T Downy crude oil carrier off the coast of Kharg Island in the Gulf, and the M/T Stark crude oil carrier near Jask, along the Iranian coast on the eastern side of the Strait. The US also struck an unladen tanker in the Gulf of Oman, Centcom said.
“Let the message to the IRGC be clear: if you shoot at two of our ships, we will impose an even higher economic cost — taking out three of yours,” Admiral Brad Cooper, Centcom commander, said in a statement. “We will not hesitate to defend American forces and, if necessary, destroy Iran’s limited and exposed oil fleet.”
The Revolutionary Guards said in a statement that it had targeted three oil tankers travelling through what it described as “unauthorised routes” in the Strait of Hormuz, as well as three vessels affiliated with the US “in other areas”.
It issued “a firm warning to all vessels present in the Persian Gulf and near the Strait of Hormuz” not to pass through what Iran sees as unauthorised routes. “Otherwise, you will be targeted,” it said.
The new exchange of fire came after Washington renewed its campaign of military strikes against Iranian targets over the past week after a month of relative quiet in the six-month-old conflict.
As a result of the tit-for-tat strikes, the price of Brent crude oil has in recent days risen above $90 per barrel for the first time since May, casting a new cloud on the global economy.
While Donald Trump on Friday dismissed the Iran war as “small potatoes”, its extended duration and impact on inflation have emerged as big political vulnerabilities for Republicans ahead of the US midterm elections in November.
Iran has increasingly tried to strike a small fleet of ships engaged in risky shuttle runs ferrying oil from Gulf ports to more risk-averse vessels waiting outside the Strait of Hormuz.
There have been at least four attacks on tankers by the IRGC since August 30, when the most recent round of direct strikes between the two sides resumed.
Iran has also issued a list of more than 50 tankers that it has warned could be susceptible to attack or seizure for their role in exporting Gulf countries’ oil via the strait. Many of the tankers are owned by Gulf national oil and shipping companies such as the UAE’s Adnoc and Saudi Arabia’s Bahri.
Traffic through Hormuz has fallen to near all-time lows, according to maritime analytics firm Windward.
The US has responded by tightening its blockade of Iranian ports and vessels and taking more action against so-called “dark fleet” ships that transport Iranian crude.
Trump has proposed renaming the strategic waterway the “Trump Strait” in a social media post.
“Now that we have it under U.S.A. control, should we change the name Hormuz Strait to TRUMP STRAIT??? Like America itself, it would be “hotter” than ever before!,” he said.
