United States forces destroyed five Iranian oil tankers on Tuesday near Kharg Island, Iran's main crude export terminal in the Persian Gulf, according to the US Central Command (Centcom). The military said the strikes answered two ballistic missile attacks by Iran's Revolutionary Guard against a US Navy warship in recent days; the ship "successfully evaded" the projectiles and no one was injured.
Accounts from the Iranian side were partial and reported no casualties. The semi-official Tasnim news agency said a small tanker was hit by a US missile four miles (6.4 kilometers) from the island.
"A small Iranian tanker was targeted in a missile attack by the terrorist army of the United States four miles from Kharg Island. The tanker was hit by a projectile fired by American forces in the island's anchorage area," Tasnim said, in a statement carried by the Folha de S.Paulo newspaper.
The Mehr agency reported the sound of several explosions in parts of the island, and Fars recorded two detonations in quick succession at the port city of Jask, near the strategic Strait of Hormuz, around 9:45 p.m. local time.
The immediate effect showed up in the market. Brent, the international benchmark, closed the day near US$ 98 a barrel and kept rising after reports of explosions in the waters off Kharg, which sits about 24 kilometers offshore and handles about 90% of Iran's crude oil exports, according to Bloomberg. For Brazil, the scenario cuts both ways: the country, Latin America's largest economy, exports more crude than it imports, so higher prices lift export revenue, but it still buys part of the diesel it consumes abroad, and sustained highs can push up fuel costs and inflation.
The interests at stake
The United States launched the war on February 28, justified as an effort to curb Iran's nuclear program, and the most recent operational focus is reopening the Strait of Hormuz, through which about one fifth of the world's traded oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) passed before the conflict. The US Navy blocks vessels loaded with Iranian oil; Iran answers with missiles against international ships trying to leave the Gulf. On the same Tuesday, the US Treasury Department sanctioned dozens of companies tied to Iran's aviation sector, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent argues that economic pressure makes a large-scale resumption of fighting unlikely. As Bloomberg notes, the exchanges of fire show Washington's difficulty in moving from direct hostilities to a sustained campaign of economic pressure: in August, the administration of President Donald Trump said it would prioritize strangling Iran's economy and scale back the military offensive, but the attacks have continued.
Risks of escalation
The retaliation Iran announced afterwards widens the conflict's reach. The Revolutionary Guard said it had attacked a US base in Jordan, which could not be confirmed, and issued a statement ordering all tanker crews in the ports of Kuwait and Bahrain to abandon their vessels immediately, on the grounds that they could be hit. Tehran also claimed the capture of a modern US underwater drone, which the Americans downplayed, describing the equipment as defective. In parallel, Iran is negotiating with Oman to reopen maritime traffic through Hormuz, though the two countries are studying a passage toll, an idea the United States and its allies reject because they consider the route a free international waterway.
The Wall Street Journal first reported Monday's attack on the US warship, and a Fox News reporter, citing senior officials, said Tuesday's targets included tankers linked to the Revolutionary Guard as part of a broader effort to force concessions from Tehran. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the United States will keep destroying Iranian tankers in retaliation, and Trump has already threatened to strike Iran's oil infrastructure and floated taking control of the Kharg terminal. The United Kingdom, for its part, announced a legislative amendment to reinstate sanctions against Iran for "hostile actions," expanding trade restrictions and powers to punish ships linked to Tehran's nuclear program.