US strikes second Iranian vessel near Kharg
Shafaq News- Tehran (Updated at 13:41)
US forces targeted a second Iranian vessel near Kharg Island on Tuesday, Iranian media reported, after a small oil tanker was struck by a US missile while anchored about four miles (6 kilometers) from the island.
Tasnim said the first tanker was hit in the anchorage area, with no casualties reported and efforts underway to evacuate the crew. Iranian media later reported that a second Iranian vessel had also been targeted near Kharg, without immediately providing details on the vessel or possible damage.
Fox News, citing US officials, reported that the US military had targeted Iranian oil tankers near Kharg and Jask. Israeli media also cited a US source as saying American forces were carrying out attacks on Iranian tankers.
Mehr and Fars separately reported explosions around Kharg Island and near the southern port of Jask without providing details on their cause, possible targets or damage.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy later warned crews aboard oil tankers off Kuwait and Bahrain to “leave their ships immediately,” saying the vessels were vulnerable to attack in response to US strikes on Iranian tankers near Kharg and Jask.
US Central Command (CENTCOM) said on Sept. 5 that its forces struck three Iranian oil tankers after the IRGC fired ballistic missiles toward two US Navy warships. CENTCOM said it disabled the M/T Downy off Kharg Island and the M/T Stark 1 near Jask and destroyed the unladen M/T Kylo in the Gulf of Oman.
Separately on Tuesday, Iran’s Khatam Al-Anbiya Central Headquarters said the US military had threatened to target three Iranian oil tankers, warning that any attack on an Iranian vessel would prompt strikes on US bases and interests in the region.
Earlier today, the IRGC released footage of what it said was the US unmanned underwater vehicle it had captured near the Strait of Hormuz. A US official confirmed that an American underwater drone had malfunctioned more than a day earlier but did not confirm that Iranian forces had seized it.
Iran’s military also said its air defenses had shot down an American MQ-1 drone over Bandar Abbas.
