• 2 min de lectura
• 2 min de lectura
US forces struck and disabled three crude oil tankers in retaliation for the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) targeting US aircraft carriers with ballistic missiles on 5 September. CENTCOM has stated that the targeting of the aircraft carriers was unprovoked and that the carriers evaded the missiles.
Vessel DOWNY, image credit: Norbert Poller
The oil tankers struck by US forces were the Iran-flagged Downy, now permanently disabled off Kharg Island; the Stark 1, permanently disabled near Jask; and the Comros-flagged Kylo, which is claimed to have been completely destroyed in the Gulf of Oman after multiple hits. According to CENTCOM the three Iranian oil tankers were the part of multibillion-dollar network supporting IRGC
US leadership is signaling a calibrated but escalatory doctrine. Adm. Brad Cooper of CENTCOM stated that if two of their ships are shot at, they would impose an even higher economic cost.
The Iranian foreign ministry has condemned the attack, calling it a clear violation of the UN Charter and a threat to international peace and commercial shipping security. The IRGC has further claimed that it damaged three US vessels in retaliation, but CENTCOM has not confirmed this and maintains that no US ships were hit.
Mohsen Rezaei, the secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, has stated that a Restricted Navigation Zone outside the Strait of Hormuz would soon be announced. The zone would stretch from the line where the US naval blockade begins, through the Strait of Hormuz, and into some regions of the Persian Gulf. Any vessels transiting this region without Tehran's coordination would be placed on Iran's sanctions list.
