US Navy strikes three Iranian oil tankers

The American military says the attacks are in response to its own navy ships being targeted

US forces struck three Iranian oil tankers after Navy warships were targeted with ballistic missiles, the American military said.

And officials warned that it would “if necessary, destroy Iran’s limited and exposed oil fleet”.

Experts called it a dangerous escalation after Iran’s previous attacks at sea targeted commercial shipping.

The strikes — a day after US President Donald Trump sought to minimise the conflict as “small potatoes” — keep up a new tilt back toward fighting after six months of on-again, off-again war that began with US and Israeli attacks on the country on February 28.

Both sides have sought to inflict both military and economic pain, and negotiations have collapsed.

The military’s statement said an American aircraft carrier and a destroyer evaded “multiple unprovoked Iranian attacks” while patrolling in the region and no US personnel were hurt. It was not clear when the Iranian missiles were fired.

The statement said that two Iranian oil carriers were “permanently disabled” and the third, unladen one, was destroyed.

The US statement called the tankers part of a shadow network helping to fund Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guard and its armed proxies in the region.

Published: 05/09/2026 by Radio NewsHub