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Kharg Island. / AFP, Yonhap

U.S. forces have conducted airstrikes near Kharg Island—a vital hub for Iranian crude oil exports in the Persian Gulf—and the port city of Jask, striking an Iranian oil tanker in the process. 

The operation appears aimed at delivering retaliation for Iran's missile attacks on U.S. Navy warships while ratcheting up economic pressure on Tehran by targeting critical crude export routes.  

A Donald Trump administration official told Fox News on the 8th (local time) that U.S. Central Command carried out strikes in the vicinity of Kharg Island and Jask, confirming that the targets included an oil tanker.  

Iran's semi-official Tasnim News Agency also reported that night that a small Iranian oil tanker was struck by a U.S. missile in waters roughly 4 nautical miles (around 7.4 km) off Kharg Island. 

According to the agency, the tanker was hit by a U.S. projectile near the Kharg Island anchorage. Local sources indicated that no casualties were reported and that operations to evacuate the crew were underway.  

Iranian authorities are investigating the precise extent of the damage and the circumstances surrounding the incident, with detailed findings expected to be released later.  

U.S. Central Command stated that the tanker strike came in response to two recent attacks by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which targeted U.S. Navy warships using ballistic missiles.  

The strike on an Iranian tanker in response to attacks on American warships comes just three days after a similar incident on the 5th. At the time, Central Command announced that it had struck three tankers—two near Kharg Island and one in the Gulf of Oman—rendering them inoperable.  

Earlier, Iran's Mehr News Agency reported that multiple explosions were heard on Kharg Island, while blasts were also heard in the southern Hormozgan provincial port city of Jask.  

Kharg Island serves as a critical strategic node hosting facilities that handle the vast majority of Iran's crude oil export volumes. Local media have recently carried repeated reports of unexplained explosions in the area.  

Jask, situated outside the Strait of Hormuz, is likewise an essential conduit for exporting Iranian crude oil via pipelines.  

By simultaneously striking Jask and the tanker near Kharg Island, the U.S. military has underscored an intention not only to carry out military retaliation, but also to choke off crude oil exports, which serve as Iran's primary source of revenue.  

                                                                                                          Nam Mi-kyung