Tehran threatens vessels in Bahrain, Kuwait after US strikes 5 Iranian tankers
By Zachary Cohen, Hira Humayun, CNN
(CNN) — The US destroyed five Iranian tankers in response to attempted ballistic missile attacks on a US Navy warship, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said on Tuesday.
US forces struck four crude oil carriers in the Gulf of Oman and one near Kharg Island in the Persian Gulf after Iran attempted to attack the US Navy ship twice over the past two days, CENTCOM said. It said the US ship had evaded the attempted attacks and was continuing to patrol regional waters, and no American personnel had been harmed.
The strikes come as the US has focused its strategy in the war to prioritize striking or disabling targets around the Strait of Hormuz, conducting escort operations for commercial vessels through the key waterway and maintaining its naval blockade on Iranian ports as part of a “full court press” to ramp up economic pressure on the regime’s leadership.
CENTCOM said US forces instructed the crews of the vessels to abandon ship prior to striking.
Iran has vowed to retaliate by targeting oil tankers near Bahraini and Kuwaiti ports.
“We warn all crews aboard oil tankers in the vicinity of ports in Kuwait and Bahrain — which host these (American) terrorists and are partners in their hostile actions — to immediately leave their vessels, whether they are at anchor or docked at the ports, as the vessels will be targeted,” state broadcaster IRIB quoted the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as saying.
One of the Iranian tankers hit Tuesday was four miles from Kharg — an island in the Persian Gulf that acts as a hub for Iranian oil exports — according to Iran’s semi-official Tasnim News Agency. State broadcaster IRIB said a second tanker was hit off the coast of Jask near the Gulf of Oman and that the crews of both vessels were being taken ashore in lifeboats.
Syrian state TV later reported that Iranian missiles were seen heading toward neighboring Jordan and being intercepted. The IRGC claimed it targeted Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan, a key facility used by US forces.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, during his trip to Colombia, warned Tehran that the US would respond every time Iran targeted its naval ships.
“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,” he told reporters in Baranquilla.
The latest strikes come after US forces hit three Iranian crude oil carriers at the weekend, after the IRGC attempted to attack a US aircraft carrier and guided-missile destroyer.
As part of the US’s pressure campaign on Tehran, the Trump administration also took sweeping actions against Iran’s airline industry on Tuesday. The sanctions affect 27 Iranian airlines and nine service providers and sales agents accused of providing services to Mahan Air, which has been sanctioned since 2011. The private airline is accused of providing key support to the IRGC.
This story is breaking and will be updated.
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CNN’s Eyad Kourdi, Thomas Bordeaux and Yasha Saebi contributed reporting.
