Iran says it struck a U.S. vessel in the Strait of Hormuz, and Tehran’s Revolutionary Guard repeated that claim in statements carried by Iranian outlets as the exchanges of strikes intensified in the region, according to CNBC reporting.
The claim that Iran struck an unmanned U.S. vessel was reported by CNBC, which also noted that U.S. Central Command denied that any U.S. Navy warship had been struck and said operations in the area continued.
U.S. Central Command posted an official release saying its forces “destroyed five Iranian crude oil carriers” on Sept. 8 after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps targeted a U.S. warship with ballistic missiles, and it named the vessels disabled in the action.
CENTCOM’s statement said the U.S. warship “successfully evaded the attempted Iranian attacks” and that “no American personnel were harmed,” while listing the tankers CENTCOM said were rendered inoperable in the Gulf of Oman and near Kharg Island.
CNBC reported that Iran’s state-linked outlets published videos and images purportedly showing an unmanned submersible Iran said it had seized, and that the U.S. described the craft as defective and containing no sensitive classified equipment.
Analysts and outlets have tied the exchanges to disruptions in energy markets: CNBC reported Brent crude climbed around the same days the strikes were traded, reflecting concerns about the Strait of Hormuz as a global oil chokepoint.
The CENTCOM release provided concrete operational details, saying U.S. forces directed crews to abandon ship before the vessels were struck and that the tankers were part of what the statement described as a shadow network funding the IRGC.
Background to the current flare-up includes earlier U.S. strikes on Iranian targets and prior incidents in the Hormuz corridor; CENTCOM and international outlets have documented a pattern of tit-for-tat attacks that has repeatedly disrupted shipping since the summer, per Reuters and DW coverage cited in contemporaneous reporting.
What happens next remains unclear; U.S. military statements and Iranian claims continue to conflict, and officials have not provided a mutually agreed, independently verified account of all incidents in the waterway.
Sources
- CNBC — reported Iran’s claim it struck a U.S. unmanned vessel and said U.S. forces described the seized drone as defective and non-sensitive.
- U.S. Central Command — official public release stating CENTCOM destroyed five Iranian crude oil carriers on Sept. 8 and that no U.S. personnel were harmed.
- DW — reporting on U.S. strikes on Iranian oil tankers and the regional context for attacks in the Strait of Hormuz.
