CENTCOM strikes 3 Iranian oil tankers after 2 US warships targeted | VIDEO

US Central Command (CENTCOM) on Saturday (Sep 5) said that it struck three Iranian crude oil tankers. The strikes come after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) targeted two US Navy Warships in the region with ballistic missiles. The US military said that CENTCOM “permanently disabled” disabled Iranian crude oil carriers after Tehran’s “failed attacks” on its vessels.

“Following Iran’s failed attacks, CENTCOM permanently disabled the IRGC crude oil carriers M/T Downy off the coast of Kharg Island and M/T Stark 1 near Jask. American forces also completely destroyed the unladen crude oil carrier M/T Kylo (also known as the “Noxen”) in the Gulf of Oman, striking the vessel in multiple critical locations to render it inoperable after the crew was directed to abandon ship,” the CENTCOM statement read.

It added that Iranian tankers were part of a “multibillion-dollar shadow network that funds the IRGC and its regional proxies.”

“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,” CENTCOM chief Admiral Brad Cooper said. “We will not hesitate to defend American forces, and if necessary, destroy Iran’s limited and exposed oil fleet.”

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Which US Navy warships did Iran target?

Without specifying which US Navy vessels were targeted by the IRGC, CENTCOM said that “a US aircraft carrier and a guided-missile destroyer successfully evaded multiple unprovoked Iranian attacks.”

Notably, the US military has deployed USS George Washington in the Middle East after the USS Abraham Lincoln was relieved from the position following concerns over its extended stay in the region. USS Abraham Lincoln was sent to Thailand for port maintenance after US sailors’ families alleged a mental health crisis aboard the vessel due to its prolonged deployment of over 250 days without a port visit.