US Navy Sinks Five Iranian Tankers Following Tehran’s Retaliatory Strikes on Jordan

Published on 09/09/2026 – 5:02 GMT+2

US Central Command announced that American forces destroyed five Iranian oil tankers on Tuesday in retaliation for recent attacks on US warships. Subsequently, Iran launched missiles targeting US positions in Jordan, as reported by Iranian state media.

According to the United States, the military strikes occurred after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps targeted a Navy warship with ballistic missiles on two separate occasions over the previous two days. The US military stated that the warship “successfully evaded the attempted Iranian attacks and that no American personnel were harmed.”

The statement further noted that the crews aboard the five destroyed vessels—the Kivik, Charminar, Horizon 1, Riesco, and Derya—were instructed to abandon ship prior to the assaults.

Meanwhile, the Jordanian military reported that its air defense systems intercepted 18 ballistic missiles aimed at its territory, with two additional missiles landing in uninhabited areas. No casualties have been reported. As a staunch US ally that hosts American forces, Jordan’s military installations have frequently become targets of Iranian strikes.

This latest exchange of strikes has pushed the conflict back toward open hostilities in a war that has persisted for over six months.

Following an alleged strike on a US Navy sea drone on Sunday, Iranian state television reported that Iran captured an unmanned US underwater vessel at the entrance to the Strait of Hormuz at dawn, broadcasting images of the purportedly captured drone.

On Tuesday, the Trump administration imposed new sanctions on elements of Iran’s aviation sector, targeting over two dozen commercial and private airlines alongside foreign cargo service providers in an effort to further isolate Tehran from its remaining trading partners.

Both nations are vying for control over the Strait of Hormuz, through which approximately one-fifth of the world’s oil passed prior to the onset of the war.

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