US Missile Strike Hits Iranian Oil Tanker Near Kharg Island
By The Media Line Staff
A small Iranian oil tanker was reportedly struck by a US missile near Iran’s Kharg Island on Tuesday, prompting a senior Iranian commander to threaten attacks on American bases in the region if Iranian vessels are targeted.
Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency, citing local sources, said the tanker was hit roughly 4 miles (6.4 kilometers) from Kharg Island. No casualties were reported, and the crew was being evacuated from the vessel.
Kharg Island is Iran’s main maritime oil hub and handles roughly 90% of the country’s crude oil exports.
Maj. Gen. Ali Abdollahi, commander of Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, which coordinates military operations, warned that Iranian forces would retaliate against US interests if the country’s tankers came under attack.
“The aggressive US military has ordered Iranian oil tankers to evacuate ahead of attacks against them,” Abdollahi said. “I announce that any attack on Iran’s oil tankers will lead to attacks on American bases in the region by the armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran.”
Separately, Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency reported earlier Tuesday that an explosion had been heard in Jask, a port city on the country’s Gulf of Oman coast. It was not immediately clear whether that incident was connected to the reported tanker strike.
The reports followed an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claim that its forces had ambushed a US submarine after several days of relative quiet in the region.
“Fighters from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy succeeded in setting an ambush for one of the most advanced submarines belonging to the terrorist American military, at the entrance to the Strait of Hormuz, during a complex intelligence and military operation that took place today.” the IRGC announced.
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