The strikes this feed covered on Saturday were three tankers. On Tuesday, 8 September, US Central Command said it destroyed five more Iranian crude carriers, naming the Kaviz, Charminar, Horizon 1 and Riesco in the Gulf of Oman and the Derya near Kharg Island [1] [2] [3] [5]. CENTCOM said the IRGC had targeted a US Navy warship with ballistic missiles twice in two days, that the ship evaded both attempts, and that no American personnel were harmed [1] [2]. Crews were directed to abandon ship before the vessels were struck, and CENTCOM released video it said showed the Riesco sinking [1] [3]. Iranian state media confirmed a strike near Kharg, Iran's main export terminal, and reported hits near Jask [1] [2].

Tehran retaliated on a wider geographic front than before. The IRGC said it hit the Al Azraq base in Jordan with "fierce missile strikes" and destroyed hangars used by US fighter jets [1] [3] [4]. Jordan's armed forces said air defences engaged 20 ballistic missiles, destroying 18, with two falling in unpopulated areas and no casualties [1] [2] [4]. A US official called the barrage "ineffective" and said American forces had full accountability at all locations in Jordan [3].

Claims of damage to shipping remain unverified. The IRGC said it struck two US vessels, identified earlier as the destroyers DDG-119 and DDG-53, and eight tankers, describing ten ships hit in a "prohibited and unsafe" area of the strait [1] [4]. It was not clear whether the two "American vessels" were the same destroyers, and there was no immediate US comment on those claims [1].

Two developments bear directly on flow. Iran's Revolutionary Guard Navy warned crews of tankers near Kuwaiti and Bahraini ports to abandon their vessels immediately, accusing both of hosting US forces [2] [5]. Separately, Kpler counted six commodity vessels transiting Hormuz on Tuesday, five inbound and one outbound, against nine on Monday and a ten-day average near twelve [4].

Brent reached $99.49 early on Wednesday, up about a quarter since early August [1] [2] [4]. Washington also placed 27 Iranian airlines on its sanctions list, targeting every remaining commercial carrier [2] [4]. Secretary of State Marco Rubio framed the pattern plainly: for every attempt on a US naval ship, Iran will lose tankers [1] [2].