US missile attack on Iranian oil tanker near Kharg Island

Iran’s Tasnim News Agency announced on Tuesday evening that U.S. forces targeted an Iranian oil tanker near Kharg Island in the south of the country. The agency stated that “U.S. forces struck a small Iranian oil tanker with a missile four miles from Kharg Island.” The agency quoted local sources as saying the incident resulted in no casualties, noting that the tanker’s crew had been evacuated. Meanwhile, Ebrahim Zolfaghari, spokesperson for Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Headquarters, warned that “any U.S. targeting of Iranian oil tankers would be met with a direct military response against U.S. interests and bases in the region.” Zolfaghari said that “the Iranian Armed Forces would respond forcefully to any attack on Iranian vessels,” adding that “U.S. bases and interests in the region would become direct targets if such threats were carried out.”