U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) announced Wednesday morning that it destroyed five Iranian crude oil tankers, following two ballistic missile attacks by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) against a U.S. Navy warship in the past 24 hours. The statement marks an official confirmation of the operation, which was previously reported by sources citing CENTCOM.
U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) officially confirmed Wednesday morning that it destroyed five Iranian crude oil tankers, following two ballistic missile attacks by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) against a U.S. Navy warship in the past 24 hours. The confirmation, issued by CENTCOM, provides an on-record acknowledgment of an operation that had been reported earlier in the day.
The Zioneer reported at 01:17 Jerusalem that the Iranian oil tanker M/T Riesco had sunk in the Gulf of Oman after being struck by U.S. forces, and that four additional Iranian tankers were disabled with precision strikes to their engine rooms. At the same time, the U.S. military released footage documenting the strikes on the five tankers. At 01:24 Jerusalem, The Zioneer reported that CENTCOM had reportedly confirmed the destruction of the tankers, citing sources. The new statement from CENTCOM now constitutes an official, on-record confirmation.
The development is the latest in a series of escalating exchanges between Washington and Tehran. Over recent weeks, the IRGC has claimed multiple attacks on U.S. military assets in the Persian Gulf, including drone and missile strikes on the Fifth Fleet in Bahrain and Al-Azraq air base in Jordan, as The Zioneer reported. CENTCOM has conducted sustained air campaigns against Iranian strategic infrastructure, including radar installations and drone facilities. The destruction of oil tankers represents a direct strike on Iranian economic assets, signaling an expansion of the conflict's scope.
The IRGC has not yet responded to the CENTCOM statement. The claims remain unverified by independent sources.
5 developments
Source and signal
- Open-source intake