US Central Command announced Saturday that American forces struck three Iranian crude oil tankers in retaliation for ballistic missile attacks the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps launched against two US Navy warships patrolling the Gulf.

The strikes, confirmed by CENTCOM with video footage showing impacts on vessels including one near Kharg Island—Iran's key oil export hub—mark a sharp tactical escalation in the six-month conflict even as US envoys met Vladimir Putin in Moscow to discuss separate peace proposals for Ukraine.

Carrier and Destroyer Evade Iranian Missile Barrage

An American aircraft carrier and guided-missile destroyer successfully evaded multiple Iranian ballistic missiles fired by IRGC naval forces, CENTCOM said. The attacks were unprovoked, according to US officials, though Iran claimed its missiles damaged both vessels and forced them to flee the war zone.

Iran's IRGC said in a statement that it retaliated by striking six vessels total: three tankers it accused of using an "illegal" route through the Strait of Hormuz, and three vessels it claimed were affiliated with US operations in the Gulf.

The dueling accounts could not be independently verified, but the Guardian published imagery from CENTCOM showing a US airstrike engulfing an Iranian tanker in flames off the coast of Kharg Island on September 5.

US Threatens to Destroy Iran's Oil Fleet

In a statement accompanying news of the strikes, CENTCOM warned it would "if necessary, destroy Iran's limited and exposed oil fleet" to prevent Tehran from financing regional proxy forces through petroleum exports. The threat signal comes as the Trump administration seeks to choke off Iranian revenue streams while avoiding a direct ground invasion.

Al Jazeera reported that US officials accused the targeted tankers of helping finance Hezbollah, Iraqi militias, and Houthi forces operating across the Middle East. The strikes aim to demonstrate that Iran's economic lifeline remains vulnerable despite Russian assistance in upgrading Tehran's anti-ship missile capabilities.

Escalation Amid Stalled Diplomacy

The naval clash occurred hours after a Ukrainian drone swarm struck a major Russian oil export terminal at Ust-Luga and the same day US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner held three-hour talks with Putin at the Kremlin to press a proposal for ending the Ukraine war.

The timing underscores the widening gaps between Trump's peace efforts in Eastern Europe and the administration's confrontational approach in the Persian Gulf, where no parallel diplomatic track exists despite Trump's repeated statements that he wants a deal with Iran.

Bloomberg noted that the strikes threaten to push energy prices higher if Iran responds by attempting to close the Strait of Hormuz, the choke point through which 21% of global petroleum passes daily. RNZ reported that both sides are calculating how far they can escalate without triggering a wider regional war that neither appears prepared to fight.

Pentagon officials have not said whether additional US forces are being repositioned to defend against potential Iranian retaliation, and Central Command declined to comment on the operational status of the carrier strike group following the missile attack.