US forces hit five Iranian tankers as Tehran targets American base in Jordan
Oil prices edged closer to $100 a barrel after an escalation in the tit-for-tat strikes between the US and Iran.
US forces have struck five Iranian tankers after Tehran twice aimed at an American warship over the past two days, according to US Central Command (Centcom).
Centcom said on Tuesday night that the US hit oil tankers connected to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) in the Gulf of Oman, along with a tanker near Kharg Island, a key oil terminal off Iran’s Gulf coast.
Iran responded by firing missiles at a US base in Jordan, although Jordan later said its air defence systems intercepted 18 of the 20 missiles.
The exchange of strikes between the two sides has intensified over the past week, more than six months after the US and Israel carried out attacks on Iran.
Oil prices climbed in early Asian trading. Benchmark Brent crude rose 1.5% to $99.41 (£73.39) a barrel, while US oil was up 1.6% at $94.55.
Centcom said Iran launched ballistic missiles at a US Navy warship, which the US "successfully evaded". It added that no American troops were injured.
After the US counterstrike, Tehran also threatened more attacks on US ships in Kuwaiti and Bahraini ports.
The IRGC Navy Command warned all oil tanker crews near Kuwaiti and Bahraini ports linked to the US to "immediately leave their vessels whether at anchor or at the ports because they will be targeted".
A Jordanian Armed Forces spokesperson said two of the missiles fired by Iran toward Jordan landed in unpopulated areas.
Centcom said the five Iranian oil tankers it targeted were "part of a multi-billion-dollar shadow network that funds the IRGC and its regional proxies".
Kharg Island, where one Iranian tanker was hit in the latest wave of strikes, contains Iran’s main oil export terminal.
About 90% of the country’s crude oil passes through the island, carried by pipelines from the mainland.
Asked by reporters about the back-and-forth strikes between the US and Iran, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said it was "pretty straightforward".
"Iran continues to try to hit US naval ships. And, for every time they do that or try to do that, they're going to lose tankers. And I think you'll see that again today," Rubio told reporters during a trip in Colombia.
On 5 September, the US struck three Iranian oil tankers after Iran tried to attack a US aircraft carrier and guided missile destroyer.
The latest fighting escalation erupted last week after a month of relative calm.