Iran Threatens Tankers in Kuwait and Bahrain as IRGC Responds to US Attacks
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy issued an “urgent warning” to shipping after claiming to have attacked or targeted as many as 20 ships after the latest U.S. attacks. Iranian leadership is threatening to "sharply escalate" its response to any further attacks by U.S. forces.
It is the latest in the tit-for-tat responses coming to what the U.S. administration is calling "skirmishes" as opposed to an all-out war. U.S. officials have said over the past few days that it would strike Iranian tankers if Iran continues to target American warships enforcing the blockade. Previously, the U.S. had said it was striking Iranian targets in retaliation for Iran targeting tankers in the Strait of Hormuz. Now U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters that every time Iran tries to hit U.S. naval ships, “they’re going to lose tankers.”
U.S. Central Command reported late on Tuesday, September 8, that U.S. forces destroyed five Iranian crude oil carriers after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) targeted a U.S. Navy warship with ballistic missiles twice over the past two days. It said the U.S. warship successfully evaded the attempted Iranian attacks and continued to patrol regional waters.
Later reports accompanied by a video from CENTCOM said the tanker Riesco sank in the Gulf of Oman after being destroyed by U.S. forces in response to attempted IRGC attacks on a U.S. Navy warship. The 106,500-dwt crude oil tanker, built in 2003, had been sold to unknown interests in November 2025 and first falsely claimed it was sailing under the flag of Tonga and then Zimbabwe.
M/T Riesco sinks in the Gulf of Oman, Sept. 8, after being destroyed by CENTCOM forces in response to attempted IRGC attacks on a U.S. Navy warship. pic.twitter.com/EkmG8uyMT9
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) September 9, 2026
“To all tanker crews in the vicinity of the Kuwaiti and Bahraini docks … We warn that they must immediately abandon their vessel, whether in the anchorage or at the docks, as it will be targeted,” the IRGC Navy posted.
Oil prices have soared in response to the escalations in the Gulf. The benchmark Brent crude went back above $100 a barrel for the first time since July, while prices in the U.S. were hovering just below that mark. Diesel fuel prices, however, jumped significantly, while U.S. gasoline prices have been edging up the past few weeks.
Iran claimed to have targeted two U.S. vessels and struck eight oil tankers. It also said 10 tankers were turned back “after attempting to pass through a prohibited and unsafe area of the Strait of Hormuz, with the “provocation and support” of the United States… The Strait of Hormuz remains firmly under the surveillance and management of the capable and valiant IRGC Navy.”
Preliminary data reports Reuters shows that only six ships were visibly attempting to transit the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday with the AIS transmissions on. It is unclear how many others might be attempting a dark transit. CENTCOM claims as of September 7 that U.S. forces have redirected 94 commercial vessels as part of the blockade.
UK Maritime Trade Operations and Iraqi officials confirmed one vessel that was struck. The New Andros (302,477 dwt) was struck and set ablaze, with indications of hull damage. The Greek-owned tanker, registered in Panama, was 28 NM southeast of Al-Faw, Iraq, with reports indicating it was being used by Iraq as floating storage.
It was the only vessel confirmed to have been struck, although UKMTO received a third-party report of a tanker listing while at anchor 24NM northwest of Port Rashid, UAE. Another unconfirmed report said an LNG carrier might have been damaged at the port of Khor Fakkan in the UAE.
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Iran is also claiming to have chased away U.S. vessels from the region. It said there had been 40 U.S. vessels and warships deployed inside the Persian Gulf. “Today, not even a single one of them is present in this area, and US warships have withdrawn at least 400 kilometers from the Strait of Hormuz,” said the IRGC Navy’s Brigadier General Hossein Mohebbi. He claimed Iran had targeted the U.S. carriers at a distance of 500 kilometers.
Martin Kelly, Head of Advisory at EOS Risk Group, said he expects details on more of the possible attacks on the eight ships would trickle in. He noted that these were the first attacks since July 14 recorded outside the Strait of Hormuz.
