An Iranian tanker was struck by US forces on Saturday near Kharg Island, the terminal that handles the bulk of Iran’s crude exports, the semi-official Iranian news agency Tasnim reported.
A Tasnim correspondent on Kharg said the vessel was hit by four US missiles in the island’s anchorage area, Ada Derana reported, carrying Reuters copy. Tasnim quoted local sources as saying there were no casualties and that the tanker’s crew was being evacuated.
There was no immediate official announcement from Iranian authorities, and US Central Command did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The reports firmed up through the morning
An earlier filing carried by Hiru News shows how the account tightened over several hours. The semi-official Fars agency initially said only that explosion sounds had been heard from the Gulf, that no smoke was visible and that the origin of the blasts was unknown.
The state-affiliated Nournews then reported, citing local sources and describing the reports as unconfirmed, that an Iranian tanker had been hit near Kharg by a missile fired by US forces. The news site Asr Iran said the tanker was struck by four projectiles while it was being unloaded. Neither Iranian nor US authorities had confirmed anything at that stage.
Why Kharg matters
Iran is the third-largest producer in OPEC and exported 90 percent of its crude through Kharg Island before the war. Those flows have been disrupted since the US blockade of Iranian oil exports began in mid-April, imposed after Iran effectively shut the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway that carried a fifth of the world’s oil supply.
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”. At the time Iran denied any attack was under way and said operations at the terminal were continuing, and no outlet corroborated the claim. Iranian authorities have repeatedly warned of a strong response if Kharg is struck.
Trump said on June 11 that he wanted to take over Kharg Island, then said a threatened US military operation there was off the table for now, days before Tehran and Washington signed an interim agreement on June 17 aimed at ending the war.
The Sri Lankan connection
The conflict has already reached Sri Lankan waters. Iranian fuel tankers have been anchored off Galle since the blockade tightened, and the government said last month it was monitoring vessels sitting just outside the exclusive economic zone. A strike on Kharg itself would be a far larger supply event than the attack on Iranian launchers at Larak Island on August 31, which pushed Brent crude above $90 a barrel.
Not reported
Neither report names the tanker, its flag, its owner or its cargo, and neither gives the extent of the damage or the size of the crew. There is no official confirmation from either Tehran or Washington that the strike took place, no stated reason for targeting this vessel, and no indication yet of how oil markets have responded.
