Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency reported Tuesday evening that the United States attacked an Iranian oil tanker while it was anchored near Kharg Island. According to the report, there were no casualties and the crew was evacuated. The report was cited by Israeli journalist Amichai Stein (i24NEWS).
At 22:38 Jerusalem Tuesday night, Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency reported that the United States struck an Iranian oil tanker while it was anchored near Kharg Island, with no casualties and the crew evacuated. The report follows a US official's confirmation at 22:34 that airstrikes against Iranian oil tankers were underway, as The Zioneer reported, and earlier unverified claims from a regional monitoring channel at 21:50 that two tankers had been hit off Kharg and a third in Jask. Tasnim's account, while the first specific post-strike report from an Iranian source, is semi-official and closely affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
The thread unfolded rapidly Tuesday evening. At 21:50, Iranian media and a regional monitoring channel reported explosions near the Kharg Island anchorage and claimed that two oil tankers had been hit off Kharg and a third in the port of Jask (as The Zioneer reported at 21:50 and again at 22:17). At 22:34, a US official confirmed to The Jerusalem Post and i24NEWS that airstrikes were actively targeting Iranian oil tankers, a development The Zioneer published immediately. Minutes later, at 22:38, Tasnim provided a more measured account: a single tanker struck near Kharg, no casualties, crew evacuated. Corroboration has thus evolved from unverified monitoring reports, to US official confirmation, to a semi-official Iranian narrative.
The strikes are the latest in a sustained US military campaign against Iranian oil infrastructure in the Persian Gulf since late June, as previously reported by The Zioneer. That campaign has included the warning and strike on the Iranian tanker STARK I near Kharg Island on Saturday (September 5), strikes on the Lavan Island refinery (July 8), and attacks on Qeshm Island and Bandar Abbas (July 16). Targeting the Kharg Island terminal — Iran's primary oil export hub — underscores the US effort to degrade Iran's ability to export crude. Tasnim serves as a primary channel for IRGC strategic messaging, and its reporting should be read with that affiliation in mind.
The extent of damage to the tanker and its identity remain unconfirmed. Tasnim reported no casualties, but independent verification has not been possible. It is unclear whether this tanker is one of the two initially reported by the regional monitoring channel or a different vessel. The potential for Iranian retaliation in the Gulf or against US assets continues to be a concern, as noted in earlier reporting.
5 developments
- DevelopingIran attacks two oil tankers off Oman and in UAE, Abu Saleh's Arabic Desk reports
- StrongAmerican source tells i24NEWS: Several Iranian tankers linked to IRGC were attacked
- DevelopingOil tanker attacked near Yemen's northern border, report says
- StrongUAE says Iran attacked its oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz
Source and signal
- Open-source intake