Iranian oil tanker hit in US missile attack near Kharg Island

An Iranian tanker ‌was hit by US forces on Saturday near Iran's key oil export hub, Kharg Island, in the Gulf, the semi-official Iranian news agency Tasnim reported.

According to a Tasnim correspondent from ​Kharg, the tanker was hit by four US missiles in the ​area of Kharg Island's anchorage.

Four projectiles fired by US forces struck the tanker about 10 kilometers off the coast of Kharg Island, the report said.

Tasnim quoted local sources as ⁠saying there were no casualties and the tanker's crew was being evacuated.

The reported incident came after the US and Iran exchanged attacks in recent days, ending roughly a month of relative calm. US forces resumed strikes on Iranian targets last week, while Iran responded with missile and drone attacks on US positions and other targets in the Gulf.

The escalation has also increasingly affected commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said earlier this week that two oil tankers had struck mines in the strait after attempting to use what Tehran described as an unauthorized route. The US military disputed the claim, saying no ships had hit mines in the waterway.

The latest confrontation followed a US strike in southern Iran that Iranian authorities said hit a wedding gathering, killing five people. A Reuters analysis found the damage was consistent with a direct hit by a US munition, while Washington said it was investigating and denied targeting civilians.

Kharg Island threat

US President Donald Trump said on August 31 in a one-line social media post accompanied by an AI-generated video that Kharg Island was ​being "blown to smithereens." Iranian authorities have vowed a strong response if Kharg ​is attacked.

Iran is the third-largest producer in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and ‌exported ⁠90% of its crude via Kharg Island before the war, but flows have been disrupted since a US blockade of Iranian oil exports began in mid-April.

Trump said on June 11 that he wanted to take over Kharg Island ​but then said ​a threatened US ⁠military operation there was off the table for now, days before Tehran and Washington signed an interim agreement aimed at ending ​the war on June 17.

A US attack on ​Kharg would ⁠heap further pressure on Iran's oil industry and its wider economy, which is already reeling from the US naval blockade.

The US imposed its blockade on ⁠Iranian ports ​after Iran effectively shut the Strait of ​Hormuz, a key waterway that carried one-fifth of the world's oil supply before the war.

(With input from Reuters)

(Cover: This satellite image obtained from Copernicus Sentinel Data 2026 on May 8, 2026, appears to show an oil slick spreading off the coast of Kharg Island, a key oil export terminal for Iran. /VCG)