US forces hit five Iranian tankers as Tehran targets American base in Jordan - Published US forces struck five Iranian tankers in response to Tehran twice targeting an American warship over the past two days, US Central Command (Centcom) said. Four Iranian oil tankers linked to Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) in the Gulf of Oman were targeted, as well as another tanker near Kharg Island, a major oil off Iran's Gulf Coast, Centcom added.

Tehran retaliated by launching missiles at a US base in Jordan, though Jordan later said that it had shot down 18 of the 20 Iranian missiles with its air defence systems. Tit-for-tat strikes between the two countries have escalated in the past week, more than six months after the US and Israel launched attacks on Iran on 28 February.

Oil prices rose in early trading in Asia. Benchmark Brent crude was up by 1.5% at $99.41 (£73.39) a barrel, while US-traded oil was 1.6% higher at $94.55. Iran has warned of further retaliatory strikes on US ships in Kuwaiti and Bahraini ports. The IRGC Navy Command warned all oil tanker crews near Kuwaiti and Bahraini ports linked to the US to "immediately leave their vessels whether at anchor or at the ports because they will be targeted".

Two of the missiles fired by Iran towards Jordan fell in unpopulated areas, an official spokesperson for the Jordanian Armed Forces said. The latest round of escalation comes after Iran targeted a US Navy warship with ballistic missiles, which the US "successfully evaded", according to Centcom.

It added that no American troops were harmed during the attacks. In response, the US said that the five Iranian oil tankers it targeted were "part of a multi-billion-dollar shadow network that funds the IRGC and its regional proxies". Kharg Island - where one Iranian tanker was attacked in the latest round of strikes - hosts Iran's main terminal for exporting oil.

Some 90% of the country's crude oil passes through the island, transported through pipes from the mainland. When asked by reporters about the latest tit-for-tat strikes between the US and Iran, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the situation was "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. On 5 September, the US struck three Iranian oil tankers after Tehran attempted to attack a US aircraft carrier and guided missile destroyer.

The latest escalation in fighting flared last week, following a month of relative calm. With additional reporting from Peter Hoskins.

US strikes Iran, destroys 5 oil tankers amid escalating war U.S. military forces destroyed five Iranian crude oil tankers on Tuesday, Sept. 8, officials said. The strikes targeted five tankers linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), according to U.

S. Central Command, the arm of the military overseeing operations in the Middle East. Central Command shared footage of the strikes showing the aft, or rear, part of the massive non-military vessels. Military authorities said they issued a warning to crews beforehand, telling them to abandon ship.

It’s unclear if anyone was still aboard the vessels. Iranian leaders issued no immediate public response to the strikes. The strikes come amid an escalating round of attacks in the region. According to Central Command, U.S. forces targeted the vessels in response to two Iranian attacks on a Navy vessel over the past two days.

American forces also struck two Iranian tankers on Sept. 5. Those earlier strikes came in response to an Iranian attack on a Navy vessel as well, military officials said. The escalating back and forth between the two sides began on Aug. 30 after nearly a month-long pause in the fighting.

American officials said they struck Iranian military forces that were preparing to set mines in the Strait of Hormuz. IRGC forces responded by launching an attack on U.S. air bases in Jordan with ballistic missiles, Iranian media reported.

American forces in the Middle East struck multiple Iranian tankers that U.S. officials said are linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in response to attempted attacks by the IRGC on at least one U.S. ship operating in the region, according to a U.

S. official. The Iranian attacks did not hit the ship or injure American personnel, according to the official. The strikes Tuesday on the Iranian tankers come after the IRGC attempted to hit an American aircraft carrier and a destroyer over the weekend, resulting in a U.

S. response in which the U.S. sunk one tanker and permanently disabled two more. Iran threatened to target oil tankers in Kuwait and Bahrain in retaliation for the U.S. strikes. “Following the actions of the American military in targeting several Iranian oil tankers, we warn all oil tanker crews in the areas around the ports of Kuwait and Bahrain, which are hosting these forces and are complicit in their actions, to immediately evacuate their vessels, whether they are at anchor or docked as they will be targeted,” the IRGC Navy said in a statement posted by the semi-official Fars news agency.

According to an anonymous U.S. official, American forces struck multiple Iranian tankers on Tuesday in response to alleged missile attempts against a Navy warship. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard subsequently warned tanker crews in Kuwait and Bahrain to abandon their vessels, threatening retaliation and accusing the host nations of aiding U.

S. operations.