US forces struck five Iranian oil tankers after Tehran twice targeted an American warship over the past two days, US Central Command (Centcom) said.
Centcom said US forces targeted four Iranian oil tankers linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) in the Gulf of Oman and another tanker near Kharg Island, a major oil terminal off Iran’s Gulf coast, reports BBC.
Iran retaliated by firing missiles at a US base in Jordan. Jordan said its air defence systems intercepted 18 of the 20 Iranian missiles.
The latest exchange marked a further escalation in tit-for-tat attacks between the two countries over the past week, more than six months after the US and Israel launched attacks on Iran on 28 February.
Oil prices rose in early Asian trading amid growing concerns over the regional conflict. Benchmark Brent crude increased 1.5 per cent to $99.41 (£73.39) a barrel, while US-traded oil gained 1.6 per cent to $94.55.
An official spokesperson for the Jordanian Armed Forces said two Iranian missiles fired towards Jordan landed in unpopulated areas.
Iran warned that it could launch further retaliatory attacks and urged crews of US-linked tankers near ports in Kuwait and Bahrain to “immediately leave their vessels whether at anchor or at the ports because they will be targeted”.
The latest escalation followed Iran’s targeting of a US warship with ballistic missiles. Centcom said the missiles were “successfully evaded” and that none of the attacks harmed American troops.
The US said the five Iranian oil tankers it struck were “part of a multi-billion-dollar shadow network that funds the IRGC and its regional proxies”.
One of the tankers targeted in the latest US strikes was near Kharg Island, which hosts Iran’s main oil export terminal. About 90 per cent of the country’s crude oil passes through the island after pipelines transport it from the mainland.
Broader instability across the region has also added pressure to oil prices. On Tuesday, Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi movement attacked energy facilities and civilian infrastructure in Saudi Arabia, injuring 73 people, according to Saudi authorities.
Saudi Arabia’s military and energy ministry said the drone and missile attack sparked fires at oil facilities and installations, forcing a temporary suspension of operations. Asked by reporters about the latest exchange of attacks between the US and Iran, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio described the situation as “pretty straightforward”.
“Iran continues to try to hit US naval ships. And, for every time they do that or try to do that, they’re going to lose tankers. And I think you’ll see that again today,” Rubio told reporters during a trip in Colombia.
The US carried out Tuesday’s strikes hours after Iran’s navy said it had seized an uncrewed US submarine in the Strait of Hormuz.
US Navy Captain Tim Hawkins, a spokesperson for Centcom, said the “underwater drone operated by US forces malfunctioned more than a day ago” and had been used to survey regional waters “in support of ongoing operations”.
He said the defective drone was “an older model that neither collected sensitive data nor carried any classified sonar or radar equipment”, adding that US operations in regional waters were continuing.
