ab ovo

Five more tankers destroyed, and the ratio keeps rising

8 September 2026

US Central Command “destroyed five Iranian crude oil carriers, Sept. 8, after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) targeted a U.S. Navy warship with ballistic missiles twice over the past two days.”1 The vessels named are the M/T Kaviz, M/T Charminar, M/T Horizon 1 and M/T Riesco, struck in the Gulf of Oman, and the M/T Derya near Kharg Island.1 The warship “successfully evaded the attempted Iranian attacks and continued to patrol regional waters,” and no American personnel were harmed.1 The action follows the destruction of three carriers on 5 September (see CENTCOM strikes IRGC targets, then destroys three tankers).2

  1. The count rose as the provocation narrowed. On 5 September the IRGC attempted to strike an aircraft carrier and a guided-missile destroyer, and three carriers were destroyed; on 8 September the target was a single warship, engaged twice, and five were destroyed.21 Admiral Brad Cooper had put the earlier action in explicitly arithmetic terms — “[i]f you shoot at two of our ships, we will impose an even higher economic cost —taking out three of yours” — and the second exchange does not follow that ratio.21

  2. The target set is chosen for what it funds rather than what it threatens. The release describes the tankers as part of “a multibillion-dollar shadow network that funds the IRGC and its regional proxies” and states that “Iran has no means by which to defend these vessels.”1 Crude carriers are not the platforms that launched the missiles; they are the revenue behind them, which makes this a sanctions objective pursued by ordnance.1

  3. The strikes are preceded by a warning to the crews. American forces “directed the crews to abandon ship before the vessels were struck and rendered inoperable,” as they did on 5 September with the unladen M/T Kylo.12 The releases record no casualties on either side in the tanker actions.12

  4. CENTCOM’s public record for August contains none of this. Its public releases for August 2026 cover a multinational drone task force, two changes of command and the commander’s regional trip; the most recent operational release before September is dated 29 July, reporting a “heavy wave of strikes” on IRGC targets in response to an attempted missile attack the day before.34 The naval blockade and the attacks on American bases reported during August therefore have no CENTCOM primary record, and remain uncovered here for that reason.4

Footnotes

  1. U.S. Central Command, “U.S. Destroys 5 IRGC Tankers After Iran Targets Another American Warship,” public release dated Sept. 8, 2026, Tampa, Florida. Quoted for the action and its stated trigger, the five named vessels and their locations, the evasion by the warship, the absence of American casualties, the description of the shadow network, the statement that Iran cannot defend the vessels, the direction to crews to abandon ship, and the recapitulation of 5 September. The release closes: “All IRGC attempts against U.S. Navy warships have failed.” https://www.centcom.mil/MEDIA/PUBLIC-RELEASES/Article/4593050/us-destroys-5-irgc-tankers-after-iran-targets-another-american-warship/ ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9

  2. U.S. Central Command, “CENTCOM Destroys 3 IRGC Oil Tankers After Iran Targets 2 U.S. Navy Warships,” public release dated Sept. 5, 2026, including the quotation from Adm. Brad Cooper. See CENTCOM strikes IRGC targets, then destroys three tankers. https://www.centcom.mil/MEDIA/PUBLIC-RELEASES/Article/4591744/centcom-destroys-3-irgc-oil-tankers-after-iran-targets-2-us-navy-warships/ ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5

  3. U.S. Central Command, “U.S. Strikes IRGC Targets After Attempted Iranian Attacks,” reporting that “[a]t 10 p.m. ET on July 29” CENTCOM “successfully completed a heavy wave of strikes against Iran,” striking “dozens” of IRGC targets “including military command centers, missile and drone facilities, coastal surveillance and defense sites, and maritime capabilities,” after IRGC forces “launched multiple ballistic missiles from Iran in an attempted surprise attack” on 28 July which were “successfully intercepted.” https://www.centcom.mil/MEDIA/PUBLIC-RELEASES/Article/4559495/us-strikes-irgc-targets-after-attempted-iranian-attacks/ ↩

  4. U.S. Central Command public releases index, read 13 September 2026. The releases carrying August 2026 dates — 5, 11, 13, 14 and 15 August — concern the first multinational attack drone task force, a U.S. Air Forces Central change of command, a Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve change of command, a transfer of leadership at U.S. Special Operations Command Central, and the commander’s ten-day regional trip. None reports a strike or blockade action. That is a negative across CENTCOM’s own releases and not across all Defense Department channels. https://www.centcom.mil/MEDIA/PUBLIC-RELEASES/ ↩ ↩2

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