U.S. Strikes 3 Iranian Tankers After IRGC Attack

U.S. Central Command said it struck three Iranian crude-oil carriers on Sept. 5 after Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps launched ballistic missiles toward two U.S. Navy warships operating in regional waters. CENTCOM said the American ships evaded the attacks and that no U.S. personnel were injured.

The strikes represent a direct expansion of the U.S.-Iran confrontation into oil transportation. CENTCOM said the operation was intended to impose an economic cost on the IRGC, while Iran subsequently targeted vessels and warned commercial shipping against movements it considers unauthorized in the Strait of Hormuz.

U.S. Targets Iranian Oil Carriers After Missile Attack

CENTCOM said the three Iranian crude carriers were struck after the IRGC launched ballistic missiles at two U.S. Navy vessels. The command said one of the U.S. ships was an aircraft carrier and the other a guided-missile destroyer, and that both successfully evaded the attacks.

CENTCOM explicitly framed the response around Iran’s oil revenues, saying the United States would impose an “even higher economic cost” after the attack on its ships. The command’s statement therefore tied the military response directly to Iran’s petroleum-export capacity rather than limiting it to the original missile attack.

Reuters reported that one of the U.S. strikes occurred near Kharg Island, Iran’s major oil-export hub. The location is strategically significant because disruption around the island can affect both Iranian export infrastructure and shipping risk in the northern Persian Gulf.

Iran Threatens Shipping Through Strait of Hormuz

Iran’s IRGC subsequently said it had targeted three oil tankers it considered to be using unauthorized routes and separately attacked U.S.-linked vessels, according to Reuters’ account of Iranian claims. The IRGC also warned commercial vessels against what it described as suspicious movements through unauthorized waterways.

The competing claims could not all be independently verified, making the operational status of individual vessels difficult to establish. Iran has nevertheless taken concrete steps to restrict maritime traffic: the Persian Gulf Strait Authority had listed 56 vessels as prohibited from transiting the strait by Sept. 2, according to its government website.

The restrictions add another layer of risk for shipowners already operating under a sharply reduced traffic environment. EIA data show that oil and petroleum-liquid flows through Hormuz averaged 4.9 million barrels per day in the second quarter of 2026, down from 21.6 million barrels per day in the fourth quarter of 2025 before the conflict began.

Hormuz Disruption Keeps Global Oil Supply Under Pressure

The scale of the disruption is significant even before the latest tanker strikes. EIA estimates that crude oil and condensate flows through Hormuz averaged 3.7 million barrels per day in the second quarter, while petroleum-product flows averaged another 1.1 million barrels per day.

The waterway’s importance extends beyond crude exports. EIA estimated LNG flows through Hormuz at 0.8 billion cubic feet per day in the second quarter, compared with 7.4 billion cubic feet per day during the first quarter, demonstrating the broader impact on Gulf energy trade.

Oil markets have already reflected the heightened supply risk. Reuters reported that Brent reached $96.28 a barrel after the Sept. 5 U.S.-Iran exchange, while renewed fighting earlier in the week had pushed Brent to $94.65 and WTI to $90.22 at settlement on Sept. 1.

Gulf Shipping Faces a More Complex Security Environment

The latest confrontation follows attacks on commercial shipping earlier in the week. Saudi Arabia said an Iranian attack on an oil tanker operated by its national shipping company killed two Filipino seafarers on Sept. 2, while another Saudi-linked tanker was also struck near Oman.

Iran has simultaneously expanded its restrictions on vessels using Hormuz. The Persian Gulf Strait Authority added 11 ships to its blacklist on Sept. 2, bringing the total to 56, with the list covering crude tankers, LNG and LPG carriers and vessels transporting refined products.

For energy markets, the immediate positive factor is that the latest escalation remains concentrated around identifiable military and maritime targets rather than representing a complete halt in all regional energy flows. But with Hormuz volumes already running far below pre-conflict levels, continued vessel attacks and additional restrictions leave global buyers dependent on alternative routes and supplies.