US Destroys Three Iranian Oil Tankers After IRGC Ballistic Missile Attack on Carrier Group; Iran Hits Six More Vessels in Reprisal

The Strait of Hormuz conflict escalated sharply on September 5 (Saturday): Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps launched ballistic missiles at a US aircraft carrier and destroyer, which US Central Command said were successfully evaded with no American casualties or damage. In response, US forces destroyed or disabled three Iranian oil tankers — identified as the M/T Downy, M/T Stark 1, and M/T Kylo. Iran's Revolutionary Guards said they retaliated the same evening by targeting three more oil tankers using an 'unauthorised route' through the Strait plus three US-linked vessels elsewhere in the Gulf. Iran's chief negotiator and parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said 'the era of proportionate responses is over.' The exchange extends a war-risk premium in oil markets that has already pushed Brent toward an 8% weekly gain, adding fresh tanker-destruction risk to an already severely disrupted Hormuz shipping corridor a little over two months after the June 17 ceasefire MOU collapsed (July 8).