{"id":7084,"date":"2026-09-13T22:41:55","date_gmt":"2026-09-13T22:41:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/southandcentralasiablog\/?p=7084"},"modified":"2026-09-13T22:41:55","modified_gmt":"2026-09-13T22:41:55","slug":"us-military-says-it-has-destroyed-5-iranian-oil-tankers-after-missile-attacks-on-navy-warships","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/southandcentralasiablog\/2026\/09\/13\/us-military-says-it-has-destroyed-5-iranian-oil-tankers-after-missile-attacks-on-navy-warships\/","title":{"rendered":"US military says it has destroyed 5 Iranian oil tankers after missile attacks on Navy warships"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Link: https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/iran-tanker-navy-warship-dfc9a1d9c9a5b8bc7b47fcc004025e65<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The US military said it destroyed five Iranian oil tankers on Tuesday in response to the latest missile attacks on its Navy warships, and Tehran then hit back at the American targets in Jordan. This was the latest attack in the back and forth events that has pushed both sides towards more violence in a war that has lasted for over 6 months. The strikes came after Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard targeted another American warship. The US reported no casualties from the strikes. This was the second round of tanker strikes in recent days, as the military had previously hit three Iranian oil tankers, warning it would “destroy Iran’s limited and exposed fleet.” The campaign is aimed at crippling Iran;s oil exports, a key source of revenue and leverage, while the attacks on Navy ships signal Iran’s advancements in missiles and eagerness to directly strike US forces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This presents an escalation in a conflict that’s been building for months on end. The US targeting Iran’s oil tankers is strategic, as it is an attempt to destroy Iran’s economy and its main revenue source without commiting to ground combat. Iran’s missile strikes on Navy warships are the opposite, proving it can hit US military assets directly. Each side responds to the other’s action rather than de-escalating, which is how individual strikes turn into an open war. The lack of reported casualties on the US side shows that both are still testing the waters. However, every exchange makes the next one more impactful, stretching out the war and increasing the risk of miscalculation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The US military will likely continue this tanker campaign, claiming it as self-defense and economic pressure, while avoiding casualties that will turn into a full-blown war. Iran will continue striking back to demonstrate strength to keep the balance, but will invite heavier retaliation. The US government faces a domestic predicament, where they need to project strength while continuing to manage internal war-fatigue. Regional states like Saudi Arabia and the UAE are monitoring these conflicts in fear of spillover into shipping lanes and their own oil exports. China, who is a major buyer of Iranian oil, has an economic stake in the tanker distributions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

These conflicts present conflict between states where IGOs are absent, as the UN Security Council has not spoken out or attempted to resolve disputes. This also shows the limits of economic dependence between states, even though China and other states with a stake in Iranian oil have not deterred the escalation. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard works as a non-state actor since it operates semi-independently and complicates Iranian responses. This shows that direct wartime conflicts do not always need to involve IGOs, NGOs, or MNCs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Link: https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/iran-tanker-navy-warship-dfc9a1d9c9a5b8bc7b47fcc004025e65 The US military said it destroyed five Iranian oil tankers on Tuesday in response to the latest missile attacks on its Navy warships, and Tehran then hit back at the American targets in Jordan. This was the latest attack in the back and forth events that has pushed both sides towards more violence in a war that has… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":367,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7084","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-analysis-post"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/southandcentralasiablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7084","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/southandcentralasiablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/southandcentralasiablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/southandcentralasiablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/367"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/southandcentralasiablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7084"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/southandcentralasiablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7084\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7085,"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/southandcentralasiablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7084\/revisions\/7085"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/southandcentralasiablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7084"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/southandcentralasiablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7084"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/southandcentralasiablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7084"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}