US Targets Iranian Ships Near Kharg Island in Response to Attacks Monday

There are explosions happening near Kharg Island, the place where most of Iran’s oil flows to ships taking it to the rest of the world. It appears the U.S. isn’t bombing the island itself but may have hit some tankers in the vicinity.

A US official told The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday that CENTCOM is currently striking Iranian oil tankers, as Iranian media outlets reported explosions near Kharg Island.

According to Iran’s Mehr News Agency, there were explosions heard in the vicinity of the Iranian oil hub, which serves as the country’s main point for refining and exporting oil.

An additional report by semi-official Tasnim News Agency reported that the attacks on the Iranian vessels left no casualties…

Today’s strikes are apparently in response to some attacks aimed at the U.S. Navy which took place yesterday. Those attacks weren’t reported at the time but today the Wall Street Journal has an exclusive report.

Iran launched an attack against U.S. Navy ships on Monday that the U.S. military has yet to acknowledge, according to U.S. officials, after firing ballistic missiles at an aircraft carrier and a guided-missile destroyer over the weekend.

No American ships were struck in the attacks, but Iran’s recent attempts to hit American naval assets are raising alarm that its military is using more sophisticated weapons and could be getting assistance from China or Russia, according to the officials…

After Iran’s attempt to hit an aircraft carrier over the weekend, the U.S. struck three Iranian oil tankers that it said were funding Iran’s military and proxy groups. The tanker attacks were designed to send a powerful message that the U.S. won’t tolerate attacks on Navy ships, officials said.

Fox News is reporting that the attempted attack yesterday and the U.S. strikes today are definitely connected.

Iran had fired at least one ballistic missile at a warship on Monday, the official said. The warship was not struck, but the U.S. military wanted to send a message to Iran that it cannot target U.S. forces.

What’s unclear at this point is how Iran is able to even attempt to target our navy. Iran claims it is using new missiles which can optically guide themselves to a target. But even if that’s true, it still needs to have a general idea where a ship is when it launches the missile and without radar they shouldn’t be able to do that. All of this is raising concerns that Iran is getting help, possibly from China or Russia.

We apparently warned Iran about the strike so they could move ships out of the area. Iran issued a threat in response.

Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces announced that the US military has warned Iranian tankers to evacuate in preparation for an attack. He stated that any hostile act against these vessels would be met with strikes on US bases across the region by Iran’s armed forces. pic.twitter.com/nne8T0NzBQ

— IRNA News Agency ☫ (@IrnaEnglish) September 8, 2026

Also today, Iran’s foreign minister is mocking U.S. sanctions [in English].

After 47 years of sanctions, the US went to war with Iran on behalf of Israel. The fallout has been disastrous for America, including its standing worldwide.

After failing to achieve its aims through sanctions or war, Washington’s “novel” solution is…more sanctions. Seriously?

— Seyed Abbas Araghchi (@araghchi) September 8, 2026

Despite the tough talk, Iran is really struggling as a result of the sanctions and the blockade.

No Iranian crude has crossed the blockade since it was reinstated by the U.S. Navy in mid-July, according to ship tracker Kpler. Iran is still loading small amounts of oil onto tankers, but those barrels remain trapped inside the Gulf.

Meanwhile, the volume of Iranian crude already on vessels outside the blockade—a trove that is still generating revenue for Tehran—has fallen to around 29 million barrels from around 90 million barrels in mid-July and could run out next month, according to Kpler…

The diplomatic effort to end the war that led to a memorandum of understanding between the U.S. and Iran in mid-June, including a weekslong pause in the blockade, allowed Tehran to move substantial volumes of oil overseas for later delivery. The country is still living off the profit from those barrels.

Iran doesn’t have long before it can’t keep its operations going. If it continues to push its luck, they may find Kharg Island in flames and, at that point, even an end to the war won’t solve their revenue problem.

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