CAIRO / WASHINGTON — U.S. forces struck three Iranian oil tankers on Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026, after an aircraft carrier and a guided-missile destroyer evaded multiple unprovoked ballistic-missile attacks by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, U.S. Central Command said. No U.S. personnel were hurt, AP, the BBC, and CNN reported.

CENTCOM said it permanently disabled the IRGC crude carriers M/T Downy off Kharg Island and M/T Stark 1 near Jask, and completely destroyed the unladen M/T Kylo in the Gulf of Oman after multiple hits, according to CNN. Crews were directed to abandon ship; Iran’s state broadcaster later reported evacuations from the struck tankers, AP said. CENTCOM described the vessels as part of a multibillion-dollar “shadow network” funding 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,” Adm. Brad Cooper, CENTCOM’s commander, said in a statement quoted by the BBC and CNN. “We will not hesitate to defend American forces, and if necessary, destroy Iran’s limited and exposed oil fleet.” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth wrote on social media: “It’s simple: if Iran shoots at US ships, we will destroy (and sink) their oil tankers,” the BBC reported; CNN added his line that Iran’s tanker fleet is “defenseless” and that the U.S. could strike it in the Middle East or Indo-Pacific if Iran keeps shooting at the Navy.

The strikes came a day after President Donald Trump called the Iran conflict “small potatoes,” AP noted, amid a renewed tilt toward fighting after months of on-and-off war. A spokesperson for Iran’s joint military command warned that future strikes on U.S. military ships would be more severe if Washington continues to interfere with Iranian shipping, Iran’s state broadcaster reported via AP.

Sources