The IRGC told crews to “immediately” leave their vessels, warning that they “will be targeted”
Published 8 Sep, 2026 21:25
| Updated 8 Sep, 2026 22:07
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has threatened to attack oil tankers near ports in Bahrain and Kuwait after US forces struck Iranian vessels just off Kharg Island, the country’s main oil export hub.
The IRGC Navy issued what it called an “urgent warning” late Tuesday, telling tanker crews around the docks and anchorages of both Gulf states to immediately abandon their ships.
“We warn all crew members of the tankers in the vicinity of the docks of Kuwait and Bahrain […] to immediately leave their vessels, whether at anchor or at the docks, as they will be targeted,” the IRGC Navy Command said.
The statement accused Bahrain and Kuwait of hosting US forces and being “partners” in Washington’s attacks on Iranian shipping.
Additional footage of a PATRIOT battery conducting a massive ballistic missile engagement over Jordan tonight.
Well over a dozen interceptors can be seen engaging incoming Iranian ballistic missiles. pic.twitter.com/u69lJKtFJ7
— OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) September 8, 2026
Iranian retaliation began shortly afterward, with numerous videos circulating online showing ballistic missiles being launched from multiple locations across Iran toward US military facilities in the region.
For the first time in months, Iranian forces used medium-range ballistic missiles armed with cluster munitions to attack US forces in Jordan tonight. pic.twitter.com/DamphtCrT8
— OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) September 8, 2026
Videos from Jordan appeared to show intense air-defense activity, with multiple Patriot interceptors engaging incoming projectiles, including what some OSINT accounts identified as medium-range ballistic missiles equipped with cluster warheads.
Cluster munitions were seen falling over Al-Aqaba in southwestern Jordan. https://t.co/Q5QV021O8rpic.twitter.com/8m7DYD18fv
— OSINTWarfare (@OSINTWarfare) September 8, 2026
Multiple OSINT accounts identified Muwaffaq Salti Air Base, a major facility used by US forces east of Amman, as one of the principal targets. Some reported missile impacts near the base, but neither the alleged impacts nor the type of warheads used had been officially confirmed.
Iranian state broadcaster IRIB reported that two Iranian oil tankers were targeted near Kharg Island and Jask earlier in the day. The crews of both vessels were safely evacuated and were being transferred toward the coast aboard lifeboats.
The latest attacks follow another round on Saturday, when US Central Command said it struck three Iranian crude carriers after ballistic missiles were fired toward an American aircraft carrier and guided-missile destroyer. Two tankers were disabled and a third, which was carrying no oil, was destroyed after its crew was ordered to abandon ship.
Iran subsequently claimed to have struck three tankers traveling along what it described as an unauthorized route through the Strait of Hormuz, as well as three US-linked vessels elsewhere.
The maritime confrontation has become an increasingly prominent front in the six-month conflict. Washington maintains a naval blockade restricting traffic to and from Iranian ports, while Tehran has imposed its own controls over passage through Hormuz and recently announced plans for an additional restricted maritime zone in the Persian Gulf.
About one-fifth of global oil supplies passed through the Strait of Hormuz before the war, making threats to commercial shipping particularly sensitive for energy markets. Oil prices have continued climbing, with Brent trading near $100 a barrel and US benchmark WTI over $93 on Tuesday as markets priced in growing risks to global energy supplies.
