A rapidly expanding military confrontation between the United States and Iran moved deeper into the Persian Gulf on Wednesday as American forces struck Iranian oil tankers, Iran launched ballistic missiles toward a base used by U.S. forces in Jordan, and commercial shipping faced another series of attacks around the Strait of Hormuz.
The latest exchange has placed American naval forces, Iranian military units and international merchant vessels within the same increasingly hazardous maritime corridor. U.S. Central Command said American forces destroyed five Iranian crude oil tankers after Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps attempted to strike a U.S. Navy warship with ballistic missiles twice during the preceding two days.
CENTCOM reported that the American vessel successfully avoided the attacks and no U.S. personnel were injured. The United States said crews aboard the Iranian tankers were warned to abandon their vessels before American forces carried out the strikes.
The five ships targeted Tuesday followed three Iranian crude carriers struck by American forces on September 5. In that earlier operation, CENTCOM said Iran had launched ballistic missiles toward a U.S. aircraft carrier and guided missile destroyer. Both American warships evaded the incoming missiles and no U.S. personnel were harmed.
The two operations bring the number of Iranian oil tankers publicly identified by CENTCOM as destroyed or disabled since September 5 to eight. American military officials have described the vessels as components of an oil transportation network that generates revenue for the IRGC and organizations supported by Tehran.
Iran answered the latest American operation Wednesday with attacks extending from the Persian Gulf to Jordan.
The IRGC announced that it had attacked vessels operating near the Strait of Hormuz, including two U.S. ships and eight oil tankers. Iranian authorities claimed the vessels sustained extensive damage while attempting to navigate waters Tehran has declared unsafe or prohibited.
American military officials disputed Iran’s account concerning U.S. naval vessels. CENTCOM said no U.S. Navy warship had been struck and that Iranian attempts to hit American ships had failed. Independent confirmation of damage to all of the commercial vessels identified in Iran’s announcement was not immediately available.
Separate maritime incidents, however, demonstrated that commercial shipping remained under active threat. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations organization received reports involving several merchant vessels subjected to disabling fire in the northern Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman. Additional reports described damaged vessels elsewhere in waters surrounding the Strait.
The military exchange extended onto land when Iran launched ballistic missiles toward the Al Azraq area of eastern Jordan, where American forces operate.
Jordanian authorities reported engaging 20 incoming ballistic missiles and intercepting 18. The remaining two fell in unpopulated areas, according to Jordan, which reported no casualties. A U.S. official said American personnel were accounted for and the Iranian attack had not achieved its intended military effect.
Iran offered a different account, asserting that its missiles damaged facilities associated with American military operations. Those claims had not been independently substantiated Wednesday.
The concentration of military activity around the Strait of Hormuz has sharply reduced normal commercial passage through one of the world’s most important energy corridors. Before the current conflict, approximately one fifth of the world’s petroleum and liquefied natural gas supplies moved through the narrow waterway connecting the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman.
Preliminary vessel tracking data indicated only six commodity ships transited the strait with active transponders during the most recent 24 hour reporting period. Maritime traffic through the passage has fallen dramatically from normal levels as military operations, vessel attacks, navigational restrictions and competing American and Iranian efforts to control movement complicate commercial shipping.
Energy markets responded Wednesday as Brent crude climbed above $100 per barrel for the first time since July. Reduced movement through Hormuz has placed additional pressure on international petroleum transportation at the same time military activity is affecting another major shipping corridor on the opposite side of the Arabian Peninsula.
Fighting involving the Iran aligned Houthis in Yemen and Saudi backed forces has expanded near the Red Sea and Bab el Mandeb Strait. Houthi forces have attacked Saudi territory and energy installations while military operations against Houthi controlled areas of Yemen have intensified. The combined confrontations have placed two maritime passages central to international petroleum and commercial transportation under simultaneous pressure.
For the United States, the confrontation has developed beyond isolated strikes against Iranian military installations. American forces are now conducting operations against maritime assets connected to Iran’s petroleum trade while maintaining naval operations intended to protect U.S. forces and preserve commercial access through Hormuz.
Iran, meanwhile, is attempting to impose restrictions on vessels entering portions of the strait and has threatened additional maritime targets throughout the Persian Gulf. Tehran does not possess exclusive legal control over the international waterway, and its attempts to dictate commercial passage have placed Iranian forces in direct confrontation with American naval operations.
The September fighting follows months of military exchanges between Washington and Tehran involving naval forces, military installations, missiles, drones, energy infrastructure and commercial shipping. CENTCOM has reported more than 50,000 American military personnel operating across the broader Middle East during the conflict.
Wednesday’s developments mark another expansion of the maritime campaign. Eight Iranian oil tankers have now been destroyed or disabled in publicly announced U.S. operations since September 5, Iran has launched another ballistic missile attack toward American forces in Jordan, merchant ships have reported damage across Gulf waters, and the United States says Iranian attempts to strike its Navy have continued without successfully hitting an American warship.
Military operations remained active Wednesday as commercial carriers navigated increasingly restricted waters around Hormuz. The immediate consequences are extending beyond the vessels involved in individual attacks, with petroleum shipments, international shipping schedules and energy prices responding to a conflict now concentrated around one of the principal maritime arteries connecting Middle Eastern energy producers with the global economy.