US missiles strike Iranian oil tankers, one disabled near Kharg Island

US Central Command confirmed airstrikes on three Iranian oil tankers on September 5, with at least one vessel permanently disabled near Kharg Island, the terminal responsible for roughly 90% of Iran’s crude exports. Crews evacuated the ships, and no casualties have been reported.

What happened

CENTCOM identified the three targeted vessels as the M/T Downy, the M/T Stark 1, and the M/T Kylo. Each met a slightly different fate.

The Downy was permanently disabled off the coast of Kharg Island. The Stark 1 was disabled near Jask, a port city along the Gulf of Oman. The Kylo was destroyed entirely in the Gulf of Oman after its crew abandoned ship.

According to Iranian state-affiliated media, four missiles struck the tanker near Kharg Island, a detail that broadly lines up with US accounts. CENTCOM stated that warnings were issued prior to the attacks, giving crews time to evacuate.

The Pentagon framed the operation as retaliation for ballistic missile attacks carried out by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps against US Navy warships. The tankers, according to US officials, were part of a financial support network funneling revenue to the IRGC and its operations, a multibillion-dollar infrastructure that Washington has been trying to dismantle through sanctions, interdictions, and now kinetic strikes.

Adm. Brad Cooper hinted that more extensive actions remain on the table should the situation require imposing additional economic or military costs on Tehran.

The Kharg Island problem

Sitting roughly 25 kilometers off Iran’s southern coast in the Persian Gulf, Kharg Island functions as the country’s primary crude oil export terminal. Historically, about 90% of Iranian oil exports have flowed through this single chokepoint.

A naval blockade on Iranian ports has been in place since mid-April 2026, designed to limit Tehran’s ability to sell crude on international markets and fund its military apparatus. The tanker strikes take that strategy a step further, moving from containment to destruction of the vessels themselves.

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