Shafaq News- Tehran
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it had struck 20 vessels in two separate operations on Wednesday, “in retaliation” for US strikes on Iranian oil tankers.
In a statement, the Guard said it targeted two US vessels and eight oil tankers in the Persian Gulf, in response to a US attack on five Iranian tankers. It also hit ten other vessels that had tried to enter the restricted waters of the Strait of Hormuz with US backing.
US forces disabled five crude oil tankers linked to the IRGC on Wednesday, following two Iranian attempts over the previous two days to hit a US warship with ballistic missiles.
IRGC: Two US vessels, eight oil tankers and 10 other vessels were targeted in the operation. Follow: https://t.co/GHI09iA8ru pic.twitter.com/XONpXH1ZNL
— Press TV 🔻 (@PressTV) September 9, 2026
Shipping traffic through the strait has thinned as the confrontation has widened. Six cargo vessels passed through on Tuesday, below the daily average of recent days, according to Kpler, a firm that tracks global shipping.
Hours earlier, the IRGC had struck Jordan's al-Azraq Air Base with ballistic missiles, warning that it would continue its operations as long as US attacks persisted.
The Guard said its Aerospace Force carried out the operation, dubbed “Punishing the Aggressors,” using solid- and liquid-fueled missiles to target a maintenance and repair facility, an aircraft preparation area, aircraft shelters, and sites used to station US F-35, F-16 and F-15 fighter jets.
Jordan's armed forces said they intercepted and destroyed 18 of the missiles, with two others falling in unpopulated areas and no injuries reported.
The base, formerly Muwaffaq Salti Air Base, lies near Azraq, east of Amman. It is the Royal Jordanian Air Force's main fast-jet base and also hosts US forces.
The US Defense Department's casualty database now lists 820 American service members wounded and 18 killed since fighting with Iran began on February 28, an increase of 30 wounded from the previous figure.
CNN has reported that the Pentagon altered how it tallies casualties during the war, shifting some figures into separate categories. Those independent counts put the number of wounded higher than the official total.
The US death toll has stood at 18 since July, when three soldiers were killed in an Iranian strike on Muwaffaq Salti Air Base and a fourth died in Iraq while disposing of a downed Iranian drone.