US destroys or disables 3 Iranian oil tankers after Iran fired ballistic missiles at a US carrier and destroyer

U.S. Central Command struck three Iranian crude oil tankers on Saturday, Sept. 5, hours after Iran's Revolutionary Guard fired ballistic missiles at a U.S. aircraft carrier and a destroyer. Both ships evaded the missiles. No Americans were killed or wounded. It is the sixth month of an on-and-off war that began with U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran on Feb. 28. "If you shoot at two of our ships, we will impose an even higher economic cost — taking out three of yours." — Adm. Brad Cooper, CENTCOM commander (TS: Iran's exports are already down to 251,000 barrels a day from 1.84 million in March, per Kpler. Three ships barely move that.) The three ships: * M/T Downy, off Kharg Island: permanently disabled * M/T Stark 1, near Jask: permanently disabled * M/T Kylo, Gulf of Oman: destroyed Still open. Iran's Foreign Ministry called the strikes a "war crime" and its armed forces threatened more attacks on U.S. vessels; the Revolutionary Guard claimed it had already hit six ships in return, which CENTCOM has not confirmed. Trump had dismissed the conflict as "small potatoes" the day before.

What the blockade already did to Iran's oil exports:

• Crude sitting in storage at Kharg Island in August, unable to move: 19.45 million barrels
• Share of Iran's exports that normally load at Kharg: over 90%
• Iranian crude exports: 1.84 million barrels a day in March, 251,000 a day in August (Kpler)