US expands Iran campaign with strikes on oil tankers
WASHINGTON — American military aircraft targeted two Iranian oil tankers during the latest wave of US air and naval strikes in southern Iran on Tuesday night, two US officials confirmed to Al-Monitor, marking a subtle shift in US tactics that have thus far focused on military infrastructure, used by Iran to target shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
US drones targeted the engine rooms of two Iranian government-affiliated tankers off Iran’s southern coast in a bid to disable them, one of the sources said. Those strikes were retaliation for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ attacks on two oil tankers ferrying Saudi oil off the coast of Oman on Monday, one of the officials said. The US and Saudi Arabia have blamed Iran for those attacks.
Why it matters: Strikes on the Iranian tankers represent a new category of target in Washington’s response to Iran’s attacks on commercial shipping.
Footage released by US Central Command following the hours-long air and naval barrages included overhead infrared camera footage depicting explosions at the stern of two separate tanker ships.
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