Tehran: An Iranian oil tanker was struck by four US missiles near the vital oil export terminal of Kharg Island in the Persian Gulf on Saturday, according to Iranian news agencies including Khabar Foori and the Student News Network. The strikes took place in the anchorage zone roughly six miles off the coast of the island, prompting an immediate evacuation of the vessel. Preliminary reports indicate that no casualties were recorded during the incident, although the full extent of the structural damage is still being evaluated.
The attack directly threatens Kharg Island, which functions as the principal lifeline for Iran’s energy sector, handling approximately ninety percent of the country’s crude oil exports. Any sustained disruption or military targeting of maritime assets around the offshore terminal represents an acute escalation for international crude markets and maritime navigation across the Persian Gulf.
The strikes mark a sharp deterioration in regional security as hostilities between Washington and Tehran extend beyond the six-month threshold. Earlier in the week, the US Central Command conducted extensive bombardments across sixty Iranian military installations along the southern coastline, targeting air-defence systems, radar posts, and naval capabilities. American forces also announced that they had secured safe passage for forty commercial vessels carrying eighteen million barrels of oil through the Strait of Hormuz amid reciprocal naval blockades.
The direct targeting of commercial shipping infrastructure near Kharg Island follows a sequence of missile and drone exchanges across regional waterways, heightening concerns that maritime shipping lanes could face expanded operational halts and broader retaliatory fire.
