CENTCOM Now Says the Latest Strike 'Destroyed' 5 Iranian Tankers, and They Aren't Kidding Around

United States Central Command has issued a huge update to earlier stories about U.S. strikes around Kharg Island and the port of Jask, which also included attacks on three Iranian tankers; see BREAKING: US Strikes Iranian Tankers Again, Making Tehran's Bad Week Even Worse – RedState. The update indicates that there is a bigger story here.

U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) forces destroyed five Iranian crude oil carriers, Sept. 8, after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) targeted a U.S. Navy warship with ballistic missiles twice over the past two days.

The U.S. warship successfully evaded the attempted Iranian attacks and continued to patrol regional waters. No American personnel were harmed.

In response to Iran’s most recent failed attacks, CENTCOM destroyed the IRGC crude oil carriers M/T Kaviz, M/T Charminar, M/T Horizon 1, and M/T Riesco in the Gulf of Oman as well as M/T Derya near Kharg Island. American forces directed the crews to abandon ship before the vessels were struck and rendered inoperable.

The part of the story we didn't know was that Iran had targeted a U.S. warship with ballistic missiles twice in two days. 

The ships USCENTCOM is classifying as destroyed are M/T Kaviz (Aframax tanker), M/T Charminar (oil/chemical tanker), M/T Horizon 1 (LPG tanker), and M/T Riesco (Aframax tanker) in the Gulf of Oman, as well as M/T Derya (tanker) at Kharg Island.

The Kaviz, Horizon 1, and Derya all received a Hellfire missile into the steering area/engine room. Bombs hit the Charminar and Riesco. At the end of the video, the Riesco can be seen engulfed in flames.

CENTCOM forces destroyed five Iranian crude oil carriers, Sept. 8, after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) targeted a U.S. Navy warship with ballistic missiles twice over the past two days. The U.S. warship successfully evaded the attempted Iranian attacks and… pic.twitter.com/Gi8a2tloN1

— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) September 8, 2026

All the ships were sanctioned for running Iranian oil. The Derya is part of Iran's national fleet.

The missing part in this was the fact that a U.S. warship had been targeted by Iranian ballistic missiles twice. The retaliation is very much in line with the promise made by U.S. CENTCOM commander Admiral Brad Cooper after the last attack on Iranian tankers. "Let the message to the IRGC be clear," he said, "If you shoot at two of our ships, we will impose an even higher economic cost — taking out three of yours. We will not hesitate to defend American forces, and if necessary, destroy Iran’s limited and exposed oil fleet”; see CENTCOM Invokes 'Chicago Rules' to Deal With Iranian Missile Attacks – RedState.

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