US Military Neutralizes Two Iranian Oil Tankers Attempting to Breach Sanctions

The U.S. Central Command announced on the 8th (local time) that it had neutralized two Iranian-flagged oil tankers attempting to breach the U.S. maritime blockade against Iran and enter the Gulf of Oman. F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jets from the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush were deployed in the operation, firing precision-guided missiles at the chimneys of the two tankers, halting their operation. The neutralized tankers have been identified as the 'Sistar III' and 'Sevdah'.

The U.S. military had similarly neutralized another Iranian oil tanker, the 'Hasna', en route to the Gulf of Oman, on the 6th.

Meanwhile, U.S. forces struck Iranian military facilities in the vicinity of the Strait of Hormuz, including Qeshm Island, Bandar Abbas, and Bandar Sirik, on the afternoon of the 7th. In response, the Iranian military attacked U.S. vessels east of the Strait of Hormuz and south of Chabahar Port. Iran claimed it targeted U.S. vessels in response to the U.S. attacking two Iranian oil tankers off the coast of Iran's Jask Port and near the UAE's Fujairah Port, stating that the U.S. attacked civilian areas first.