U.S. forces struck multiple Iranian oil tankers near Kharg Island and Jask on Tuesday, according to two U.S. officials cited by CNN, hitting both of Iran's primary crude export terminals in a single day. Iran's Tasnim News Agency reported a small tanker was struck by a U.S. missile roughly four nautical miles off Kharg Island, with the crew evacuating and no casualties reported. Iranian state TV confirmed a separate tanker was hit near Jask, on the Gulf of Oman, while denying more than one vessel was struck near Kharg.
Fox News, citing unnamed senior U.S. officials, reported the strikes are part of a broader campaign to "sink or disable Iranian crude oil tankers." The action follows Saturday's strikes that permanently disabled the M/T Downy and M/T Stark 1 and sank the M/T Kylo — the first confirmed U.S. destruction of Iranian tankers in the seven-month conflict.
IRGC claims submarine seizure, drone shootdown
The IRGC claimed early Tuesday it seized an advanced U.S. unmanned underwater vehicle at the entrance to the Strait of Hormuz "as a prize of war." Iranian state media identified the vessel as an Anduril Dive-LD, valued at roughly $2.5 million. U.S. Navy Captain Tim Hawkins told CNBC in a CENTCOM-shared statement the drone was "defective," an "older model" that had "malfunctioned more than a day ago," carrying no classified sonar or radar equipment. U.S. operations in the area continue, Hawkins said.
The IRGC separately claimed to have shot down a U.S. MQ-1 drone over the strait Tuesday; there is no independent confirmation. Iran-backed Houthi militants also struck Saudi Aramco facilities and energy infrastructure across southern Saudi Arabia Tuesday, wounding 73 civilians, according to Saudi-led coalition spokesperson Maj. Gen. Turki al-Malki. Targets included the Jazan refinery. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Iran was "clearly behind" the attacks. The developments come two days after Layla Hassan's reporting on covert U.S. mine-clearing operations in Hormuz, which found tactical clearance had not resolved who controls the strait.
Observers are reading: how Iran's new Hormuz exclusion zone could force an enforcement decision within days.
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Brent crude briefly rose above $99 a barrel Tuesday, its highest since late July, as the EIA estimated Hormuz transits at just 4.9 million barrels per day in the second quarter, down from 21.6 million before the conflict. Washington also imposed new sanctions on 36 Iranian airlines Tuesday, and South Korea deployed a fact-finding team to assess the strait's security situation. No formal U.S.-Iran talks have been announced since the June memorandum's 60-day window expired August 17.
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