Iran retaliates after US strikes on oil tankers

Iranian forces have struck two US vessels and eight oil tankers in the Persian Gulf in retaliation for attacks on Iranian shipping, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said on Wednesday. It added that the strikes inflicted “significant damage” on the vessels.

The IRGC said it also targeted ten other ships that allegedly attempted, with US military support, to pass through an area of the Strait of Hormuz that Tehran declared prohibited and unsafe. The IRGC said it remains in control of shipping through the strategic waterway. The claims have not been independently verified, and there has been no immediate US confirmation of damage to the vessels.

The attacks came after the IRGC Navy issued an “urgent warning” late Tuesday, telling tanker crews around the docks and anchorages of Bahrain and Kuwait to immediately abandon their ships.

“We warn all crew members of the tankers in the vicinity of the docks of Kuwait and Bahrain... to immediately leave their vessels, whether at anchor or at the docks, as they will be targeted,” the IRGC Navy Command said.

Iranian retaliation began shortly afterward, with numerous videos circulating online showing ballistic missiles being launched from locations across Iran toward US military facilities in the region.