U.S. forces carried out a fresh round of strikes against multiple Iranian oil tankers near Kharg Island and the southern port of Jask on Tuesday, opening another dangerous chapter in the fight over Tehran’s oil exports and the Strait of Hormuz.
The new attacks came after another attempted Iranian missile strike on a U.S. Navy warship, according to The Associated Press, which cited a U.S. official briefed on the sensitive military operation.
That makes Tuesday’s action a separate escalation from the three Iranian crude carriers hit by American forces on Saturday.
Fox News national security correspondent Jennifer Griffin reported that the latest targets included Iranian oil tankers near both Kharg Island, Iran’s main oil-export hub, and Jask, an alternative export point on the Gulf of Oman.
Senior US officials to Fox: US military has struck targets near Kharg Island and Jask.
The targets include Iranian oil tankers.
This is part of a larger effort to squeeze Iran economically. The strategy includes sinking and disabling Iranian crude oil tankers.— Jennifer Griffin (@JenGriffinFNC) September 8, 2026
The precise number of vessels hit and the extent of the damage were not immediately detailed in a public statement from U.S. Central Command. Early reports circulating Tuesday said as many as three additional tankers may have been struck, but that count remained unconfirmed by the Pentagon at the time of publication.
Reports are emerging from Iranian state media that U.S. forces have struck three Iranian oil tankers, following the earlier U.S. announcement that three Iranian crude carriers were disabled or destroyed on September 5. CENTCOM said the strikes were carried out after Iran launched… pic.twitter.com/BIt5QuQlcB
— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) September 8, 2026
Iran Threatens Retaliation Around Gulf Ports
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard responded with an unusually direct warning to crews aboard oil tankers near ports in Kuwait and Bahrain. Iranian state television said the crews were told to leave their ships, whether the vessels were anchored or docked, because they could be targeted in retaliation.
That threat widens the immediate risk well beyond Iranian waters. Kuwait and Bahrain both host U.S. forces, and commercial shipping throughout the Gulf is already moving under the strain of the six-month conflict and competing American and Iranian efforts to control traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.
Roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil passed through the strait before the war. The latest escalation pushed Brent crude as high as $99.46 a barrel on Tuesday, according to the AP.
A Second Round Of Tanker Strikes In Four Days
Saturday’s operation established the pattern now taking shape.
In an official release detailing the September 5 operation, CENTCOM said Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps launched ballistic missiles toward a U.S. aircraft carrier and a guided-missile destroyer patrolling regional waters.
The American ships successfully evaded the missiles, CENTCOM said, and no U.S. personnel were hurt in the attempted attacks.
CENTCOM then permanently disabled the M/T Downy off the coast of Kharg Island and the M/T Stark 1 near Jask. A third unladen carrier, the M/T Kylo — also known as the Noxen — was struck in multiple critical locations and destroyed in the Gulf of Oman after its crew was directed to abandon ship.
The command described all three vessels as part of a multibillion-dollar oil network that funds the IRGC and its regional proxies.
What are your thoughts?
Adm. Brad Cooper warned that attacks on American ships would bring a greater economic cost against what he called Iran’s limited and exposed oil fleet.
The geography mattered. Kharg Island sits deep in the Persian Gulf at the center of Iran’s crude-export system, while Jask gives Tehran an outlet on the Gulf of Oman beyond the Strait of Hormuz.
By hitting carriers near both locations, U.S. forces demonstrated that the retaliation was not confined to one chokepoint or one shipping lane.
Iran is raising the stakes around the Strait of Hormuz, warning ships they could face sanctions if they enter a new restricted exclusion zone outside the critical waterway.
The announcement comes after the U.S. launched strikes on three Iranian oil tankers, which followed Iran… pic.twitter.com/27piWqDb2t
— Fox News (@FoxNews) September 7, 2026
President Trump’s administration is pairing the military pressure with a broader effort to cut Tehran off from revenue. Washington imposed another round of sanctions Tuesday targeting more than two dozen Iranian commercial and private airlines, along with foreign cargo-service providers.
U.S. officials said the tanker strikes are part of the same campaign to squeeze Iran economically, not the start of a ground operation. The immediate question is how Tehran answers — and whether its threats against ships near Kuwait and Bahrain become another round of attacks.
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
This is a Guest Post from our friends over at WLTReport. View the original article here.
