Adnkronos (Adnkronos) –
The U.S. Centcom command announced that it destroyed five Iranian oil tankers on September 8 "after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) targeted a U.S. Navy warship with ballistic missiles twice in the past two days." The statement also read: "The U.S. warship successfully evaded Iranian attack attempts and continued patrolling regional waters.
No American personnel were injured.”
"In response to Iran's most recent failed attacks, Centcom," the statement reads, "destroyed the IRGC oil tankers M/T Kaviz, M/T Charminar, M/T Horizon 1, and M/T Riesco in the Gulf of Oman, as well as the M/T Derya near Kharg Island. US forces ordered the crews to abandon the vessels before they were hit and rendered unserviceable.
Iran has been using these tankers as part of a multibillion-dollar covert network financing the IRGC and its affiliated groups in the region. Iran lacks the means to defend these vessels. On September 5, Centcom forces had already destroyed three Iranian tankers after the IRGC attempted to attack a US aircraft carrier and a guided-missile destroyer.
All IRGC attempts against US Navy warships have failed.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned that the United States will continue to target Iranian oil tankers in response to the ongoing attacks on American warships. "Iran continues to try to hit U.S. warships," Rubio told reporters in Colombia. "And every time they do that or try to do that, they will lose tankers." "And I think you'll see that again today," he added, referring specifically to the U.S. attacks on five Iranian oil tankers.
"Iran, for its part, in addition to claiming to have attacked two U.S. ships, eight oil tankers, and 10 'substandard vessels' attempting to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, has launched ballistic missiles at U.S. targets in Jordan," Fox News reported on its 'Special Report' program, citing a U.S. official. "We can confirm that Iran has launched ballistic missiles, including cluster munitions, at U.S. targets in Jordan. The situation is dynamic," the official said.
The Jordanian Armed Forces, Fox News also reported, said Tuesday that the country's air defense systems intercepted 20 ballistic missiles launched toward Jordanian territory. Jordanian state media reported that "18 missiles were intercepted and destroyed, while two others fell in uninhabited areas."
Meanwhile, oil prices rose in early trading in Asia, approaching the $100 a barrel mark. Markets are being driven by fears that the escalation of the Middle East conflict could cause further disruptions to supplies from the region, one of the world's main crude oil producing areas. Brent crude, the international benchmark, rose to $99,38 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the main benchmark for the U.S. market, settled at $94,51.
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