On Saturday, September 5, the U.S. Central Command launched attacks on three Iranian oil tankers following the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) firing ballistic missiles at two U.S. Navy ships patrolling in the regional waters.
According to a statement from the U.S. Central Command, both patrol ships, including a U.S. aircraft carrier and a missile destroyer, successfully evaded multiple attacks by Iran without any casualties among U.S. personnel.
After the failed Iranian attacks, the U.S. Central Command sank three Iranian oil tankers belonging to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The statement mentioned that the U.S. military permanently sank the Iranian oil tanker “M/T Downy” near the island of Halrg, the “M/T Stark 1” near Jask, and completely destroyed the oil tanker “M/T Kylo” (also known as “M/T Knockson”) in the Gulf of Oman. After the crew was ordered to abandon ship, the U.S. military targeted multiple key parts of the vessel, rendering it inoperable.
The statement highlighted that these three Iranian oil tankers were part of a secretive network worth billions of dollars, providing funds for the IRGC and its regional proxies.
The U.S. Central Command stated, “Iran was unable to protect these oil tankers.”
Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of the U.S. Central Command, declared in the statement, “We are sending a clear message to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of Iran: if you attack our two ships, we will make you pay a higher economic price – the destruction of three of your oil tankers.”
“We will not hesitate to defend U.S. forces and, when necessary, destroy Iran’s limited and exposed oil fleet,” he added.
According to footage obtained by Iran International, a video shows that a warning was issued via radio by the U.S. Navy to the Iranian oil tanker “STARK 1” before it was struck near the island of Halrg. The video captured three warnings made on the very high frequency (VHF) channel. The first warning, from a U.S. military aircraft, stated, “STARK 1 oil tanker, this is a U.S. military aircraft. I am prepared to fire at your stern. You have 3 minutes to evacuate your crew from the stern. Over.”
The second warning shortened the time to 1 minute. The third warning was the final ultimatum: “This is your last warning… immediately board lifeboats and abandon ship.”
The video depicts conversations among the crew in Persian and Urdu during the intervals of warnings, with someone inquiring about the captain and chief officer’s whereabouts, only to find out that the captain was still sleeping.