America destroyed 5 Iranian oil tankers in the Gulf: Heavy military tension in the Middle East after missile attack on American warship and Jordan airbase, Tehran’s ultimatum.

The military conflict between the US and Iran in the strategic waters of the Middle East and the Persian Gulf has reached dangerous levels. The US Central Command (CENTCOM) has issued an official statement confirming that its forces have completely destroyed five large crude oil carrier ships belonging to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in precision strikes. According to the US military, this massive retaliation came after two failed ballistic missile attacks targeting a US Navy warship within the last 48 hours. U.S. defense officials clarified that the tanker crews were issued strict warnings to evacuate the ship before the attacks, resulting in no casualties. The ships destroyed included M/T Kawij, M/T Charminar, M/T Horizon 1, M/T Risko in the Gulf of Oman and M/T Derya off the strategically sensitive Kharg Islands. The Pentagon described these tankers as the backbone of Iran’s illicit financial structure that funds the activities of regional proxy groups and the IRGC.

Immediately after the US attacks, Iran retaliated by announcing the launch of the ‘Ya Haidar Karrar’ military operation. According to statements by Iranian state media (IRIB) and IRGC, Iran’s Aerospace Force targeted the US-run strategic Al-Azraq (Mouaffaq Salti) airbase in Jordan with dozens of liquid and solid fueled ballistic missiles. The Iranian side claims that the hangars and maintenance shelters of American F-35, F-16 and F-15 fighter planes have been heavily damaged in these attacks. Apart from this, the IRGC also claimed to have fired powerful ballistic missiles at two American guided-missile destroyers patrolling the Gulf area (DDG-119 and DDG-53). However, the US military has said that its warships foiled the attacks in the air and there was no damage to US military forces. Meanwhile, Jordanian air defense systems confirmed that they shot down several Iranian missiles in mid-air over several cities, including the capital Amman.

Amidst the crisis arising over oil exports and naval security in the Gulf, the IRGC Navy has issued a very aggressive warning against the ports of neighboring Gulf countries. The Iranian Navy has directly issued an ultimatum to the crews of all commercial oil tankers based in the ports and anchorages of Kuwait and Bahrain to immediately evacuate their ships. Tehran alleged that Kuwait and Bahrain are becoming partners in these attacks by giving their military bases to the US military, so the ships parked there can be targeted. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio reacted sharply, saying that America will not tolerate any attack on its naval ships and if Iran continues to try to attack American assets, it will have to lose its entire oil fleet.

This latest military confrontation has put the movement of commercial ships in deep crisis in the ‘Strait of Hormuz’, the world’s most important oil transit route. A total of eight Iranian oil tankers have been destroyed by US forces in the past three days, while Iran has threatened to declare a new ‘exclusion zone’ around the Strait of Hormuz. Additionally, the dispute over American unmanned submersible drones and spying equipment at the Strait of Hormuz has further inflamed the situation. The tight US Navy blockade in the Gulf waters and the ongoing direct shelling from both sides have created a risk of a sharp rise in crude oil prices in international energy markets, bringing the global supply chain to the brink of complete collapse.