Washington: Tuesday’s attacks targeted 100 Iranian targets, including two oil tankers for the first time.
Washington: Tuesday’s attacks targeted 100 Iranian targets, including two oil tankers for the first time.
2026-09-02
Shafaq News – Washington
American media revealed on Wednesday that the United States has begun implementing a new military policy against Iran based on the principle of “tanker for tanker,” after the US military targeted two Iranian government oil tankers for the first time in response to attacks targeting shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
Axios quoted US officials as saying that US forces targeted the two tankers during a wave of strikes carried out on Tuesday that included about 100 Iranian military targets, in a move that represents a shift from previous operations that targeted Iranian ships to prevent them from breaching the US naval blockade.
According to a US official, US President Donald Trump has approved a new policy called “tanker for tanker,” which aims to deter Iran from attacking oil tankers and commercial vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz.
Officials explained that the two state-owned oil tankers were anchored off the Iranian coast north of the U.S. maritime blockade line, before U.S. drones fired missiles that struck their engine rooms.
The strikes also targeted Iranian Revolutionary Guard air defense and radar sites, mine-laying capabilities, communications sites, anti-ship cruise missile launch platforms, and attack drones.
US officials said Iran responded by launching about 25 ballistic missiles, but only about half of them reached Jordanian airspace, where ten were intercepted, while three fell without causing any injuries. Tehran also launched about 24 drones towards US bases in Bahrain, in addition to missiles and drones towards bases in Kuwait.
The report indicated that Iran also launched two drones towards an American base in Erbil in the Kurdistan region, but they were intercepted, coinciding with the continuation of the military confrontation in the region.
The strikes, according to the White House and the US Central Command (CENTCOM), are in response to attempts by the Revolutionary Guard to attack commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz and US bases and forces in the region.
Meanwhile, US forces continued to secure the passage of ships through the strait, with about 40 ships passing through on Tuesday carrying millions of barrels of oil. Washington said it intercepted anti-ship cruise missiles and drones launched by the Revolutionary Guard towards the ships without hitting any of them.
Axios quoted a US official as saying that the recent strikes have reduced Iran’s offensive capabilities in the Strait and given commercial vessels “at least a month” of reduced threat, as Washington seeks to prevent Tehran from rebuilding the radar and missile systems needed to target shipping in Hormuz.
shafaq.com
