The confrontation between Washington and Tehran escalated into a volatile maritime phase this weekend after Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps fired multiple ballistic missiles at two U.S. Navy warships, triggering direct American retaliatory strikes against Iranian commercial crude tankers across the Gulf.
U.S. Central Command confirmed the missile barrage, stating that both American vessels successfully evaded the incoming strikes with no personnel injured. Washington responded swiftly by targeting three Iranian tankers: the M/T Downy off Kharg Island, the M/T Stark 1 near Jask, and the M/T Kylo/Noxen in the Gulf of Oman. According to CENTCOM, two of the vessels were permanently disabled, while the third was destroyed after its crew was instructed to abandon ship. Iranian state media corroborated that a tanker near Kharg Island sustained four projectile strikes.
CENTCOM Commander Admiral Brad Cooper directly linked the operation to Tehran’s missile attack, establishing that Washington will impose immediate economic costs for strikes against American forces. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reinforced this stance, warning that the U.S. will continue dismantling Iranian oil transport if attacks on U.S. warships persist. In response, Iran's Foreign Ministry denounced the strikes as a "war crime," while its military command warned that further interference with Iranian shipping would trigger severe, escalating strikes against American naval forces.
Tensions escalated further late Saturday when the IRGC Navy claimed a sweeping second wave of retaliation. Iranian officials claimed their forces attacked six additional vessels, including three commercial tankers traversing what Tehran called an unauthorized route through the Strait of Hormuz, alongside three ships allegedly linked to the United States. Although regional maritime authorities noted merchant vessels encountering disabling fire in the northern Gulf and Gulf of Oman, U.S. officials and independent observers have not confirmed damage to any American-affiliated vessels.
The conflict’s rapid pivot toward energy assets has injected acute instability into global markets, pushing Brent crude above $96 per barrel. With strikes occurring near Kharg Island—the terminal responsible for the overwhelming majority of Iran’s crude exports—the confrontation directly imperils the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s most critical energy transit chokepoint.
The maritime clashes coincide with heightened regional pressures, as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu signaled that Israel's campaign against Iran remains active, noting that while 80 to 90 percent of targets concerning Iran's nuclear threat were achieved, further operations remain. Despite urgent calls from Oman and Egypt for immediate de-escalation and safe passage through international waters, military momentum continues to outpace diplomacy, locking the Persian Gulf in a precarious cycle of commercial and naval retaliation.
The Levant Files is monitoring the rapidly developing situation. Claims from the belligerents are being treated as unconfirmed unless independently corroborated or acknowledged by the opposing side.