Video: U.S. forces sink Iranian oil tanker after IRGC missile attempts
Abdullateef Fowewe
The U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) has announced the sinking of the Iranian oil tanker M/T Riesco in the Gulf of Oman on September 8, 2026, after it was destroyed during military operations against Iran’s shadow fleet.
The tanker was reportedly targeted alongside four other vessels following two attempted ballistic-missile attacks by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) against a U.S. Navy warship.
“M/T Riesco sinks in the Gulf of Oman, Sept. 8, after being destroyed by CENTCOM forces in response to attempted IRGC attacks on a U.S. Navy warship,” CENTCOM said in a post on Wednesday.
According to the command, the U.S. warship successfully evaded both missile attacks, and no personnel were injured.
CENTCOM also said the crews of the targeted vessels had been ordered to abandon the ships before the strikes were carried out.
The operations were described as part of wider efforts to disrupt Iran’s so-called shadow fleet, which Washington accuses of helping fund the IRGC and its allied proxy groups.
