US Sinks Iranian Tanker, Iran Strikes Jordan

WASHINGTON: The United States military struck five Iranian oil tankers on Tuesday, sinking one of the vessels, after Iran launched ballistic missiles at a US Navy warship, marking a fresh escalation in the conflict in the Middle East, CNN reports.

The US strikes triggered a significant Iranian retaliation, with Tehran launching a barrage of missiles toward Jordan, saying it was targeting US military assets in the country.

US Central Command (CENTCOM) said four crude oil carriers in the Gulf of Oman and another vessel near Iran’s Kharg Island were targeted.

One of the vessels, identified as the M/T Riesco, was seen on fire and sinking in the Gulf of Oman in footage released by the US military.

CENTCOM said US forces had instructed the crews of the targeted vessels to abandon ship before the strikes. Iranian state media reported that the crews of two vessels were taken ashore in lifeboats.

The US said the strikes were carried out in response to two Iranian attempts over the previous two days to attack a US Navy vessel. CENTCOM said the American warship evaded the missiles and continued patrolling regional waters, with no US personnel injured.

Iran subsequently launched missiles toward Jordan, saying it was targeting the Muwaffaq Salti Air Base, a key facility used by US forces.

The Jordanian army said its air defenses intercepted 20 ballistic missiles, destroying 18 of them, while two fell in unpopulated areas. No deaths were reported.

The latest escalation follows US strikes on three Iranian crude oil carriers over the weekend, after Iran attempted to attack a US aircraft carrier and a guided-missile destroyer.

Shipping intelligence and tracking firm Marisks said the attack on Jordan represented a significant geographic expansion of direct Iranian military activity and highlighted the growing risk of the conflict spreading beyond the main combatants.

Iran analyst Hamidreza Azizi of the International Crisis Group said Tehran’s repeated attempts to attack US warships, along with the increasing quality and quantity of missiles used against US targets, indicated a pattern of gradual escalation.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) also warned crews aboard oil tankers near ports in Kuwait and Bahrain to leave their vessels, saying the ships could be targeted because the countries host US forces and support Washington’s actions.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned that Washington would respond whenever Iran targeted or attempted to target US naval vessels.

“Iran continues to try to hit US naval ships and for every time they do that, or try to do that, they’re going to lose tankers,” Rubio told reporters during a visit to Colombia.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration intensified economic pressure on Tehran by imposing sanctions on 27 Iranian airlines and nine service providers and sales agents accused of providing services to Mahan Air, an Iranian carrier already under US sanctions.

Washington has accused Mahan Air of providing support to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

The latest measures add to growing pressure on Iran’s economy as the conflict continues to strain the country’s population. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi dismissed the impact of the new sanctions, saying Washington had failed to achieve its objectives through sanctions or military action.