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On Saturday, U.S. Central Command reported that Iranian forces attempted to hit a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier with ballistic missiles, prompting a severe American counterstrike that disabled two Iranian tankers and destroyed a third. “Let the message to the IRGC be clear: If you shoot at two of our ships, we will impose an even higher economic cost —taking out three of yours. We will not hesitate to defend American forces, and if necessary, destroy Iran’s limited and exposed oil fleet.” — Adm. Brad Cooper,… pic.twitter.com/UGGcSGsUtdVideo obtained by Iran International, filmed aboard a nearby vessel, captures the US military’s radio warnings to the Iranian oil tanker STARK 1 before it was struck near Kharg Island. Three warnings are audible over the VHF channel. In the first, a US military aircraft tells the… pic.twitter.com/7W8LfDNngM
In a statement, CENTCOM said that a U.S. aircraft carrier and a destroyer “successfully evaded multiple unprovoked Iranian attacks,” and that all crewmembers were unharmed. In response, U.S. forces launched a counterstrike that “completely destroyed” a sanctioned shadow fleet tanker with IMO number 9189146 (operating as Kylo or Noxen) in the Gulf of Oman.
The ship was in ballast at the time, reducing the consequences of a spill. Prior to the attack, the tanker’s crewmembers were instructed to abandon ship. CENTCOM did not provide an update on their status post-strike.
FULL ARTICLE AVAILABLE HERE: maritime-executive.com
