Shafaq News- Washington/ Tehran/ Amman
US forces struck five crude oil tankers linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on Wednesday, putting them out of service after two Iranian attempts to target a US warship with ballistic missiles over the past two days, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said.
CENTCOM said the US Navy ship evaded both attacks and continued patrolling regional waters. No American personnel suffered injuries.
CENTCOM forces destroyed five Iranian crude oil carriers, Sept. 8, after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) targeted a U.S. Navy warship with ballistic missiles twice over the past two days. The U.S. warship successfully evaded the attempted Iranian attacks and… pic.twitter.com/Gi8a2tloN1
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) September 8, 2026
The command identified four of the tankers as Kaviz, Charminar, Horizon 1 and Riesco, which US forces targeted in the Gulf of Oman. American forces also struck the Derya near Iran’s Kharg Island.
CENTCOM said it instructed the crews to leave the vessels before carrying out the strikes. It described the tankers as part of a multibillion-dollar “shadow network” that finances the IRGC and allied armed groups in the region.
The latest strikes followed a separate US operation on Sept. 5, when CENTCOM said it permanently disabled the Downy off Kharg Island and the Stark 1 near Jask and destroyed the Kylo in the Gulf of Oman after Iranian ballistic-missile launches toward two US Navy warships.
The confrontation also spilled into Jordan late Tuesday, where regional media reported missile interception activity over the northern city of Irbid and said Iranian missiles had entered the Kingdom’s airspace.
Videos circulating online appeared to show interceptors over northern Jordan. Jordanian authorities had not immediately confirmed the latest incident.
A source separately told Shafaq News that Iranian authorities suspended air traffic with Iraq as missile launches began, without specifying how long the measure would remain in place.
Jordan has faced similar attacks during the recent escalation. On Sept. 2, the Jordanian military said 13 ballistic missiles launched from Iranian territory entered its airspace. Jordanian air defenses destroyed 10, while three fell in remote areas without causing casualties.
The latest confrontation came hours after the IRGC claimed its naval forces had captured a US unmanned underwater vehicle near the Strait of Hormuz. A US official told Reuters that an American military underwater drone had malfunctioned more than a day earlier and described it as an older model carrying no classified sonar or radar equipment. The official did not confirm the IRGC’s claim that Iranian forces had seized it.
Iranian media identified the vehicle as a Dive-LD unmanned underwater platform, while the IRGC portrayed the alleged seizure as an intelligence success.
The IRGC Navy later warned crews aboard oil tankers near Kuwait and Bahrain to leave their vessels, threatening attacks in response to US strikes on Iranian shipping. Iranian officials also said Tehran planned to establish a new maritime exclusion zone around the Strait of Hormuz.