🔶 Tensions Intensify; the U.S. Targets Five Tankers Linked to the IRGC

U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said early Wednesday, 18 Shahrivar (September 9), on the X platform that, in response to missile attacks by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) against an American warship, it had targeted five Iranian oil tankers and sunk the “Riesco” tanker in the Sea of Oman. CENTCOM also released a video showing the moment the vessel was struck and sank.

According to U.S. Central Command, these tankers were part of a “shadow network” with revenues in the multi-billion-dollar range that had funded the financial resources of the IRGC. CENTCOM also said that before the attack, the crews had been asked to abandon the ships.

Iranian media had also reported several explosions near Khark Island in the Persian Gulf and around the port of Jask in the vicinity of the Strait of Hormuz.

Marko Rubio, the U.S. Secretary of State, warned about further attacks by IRGC forces on Tehran. During his trip to Colombia, he said that every time Iran attempts to target the naval vessels of the United States, it will lose more tankers.