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U.S. Central Command struck three Iranian oil tankers after Iran fired missiles at Navy warships, continuing war-powers-defiant Iran campaign

On September 5, 2026, U.S. Central Command struck three Iranian oil tankers — near Kharg Island, near Jask, and in the Gulf of Oman — after Iran fired ballistic missiles at a U.S. aircraft carrier and destroyer patrolling the region; both U.S. ships evaded the missiles and no personnel were hurt. CENTCOM permanently disabled two of the tankers and destroyed the third, with CENTCOM commander Adm. Brad Cooper saying on the record the U.S. would "destroy Iran's limited and exposed oil fleet" if necessary. The strikes continued a military campaign against Iran that has proceeded without new congressional authorization since Congress's June 2026 War Powers Resolution directed the president to end hostilities.

Part of: Trump Administration's Iran War Waged in Defiance of the War Powers Act

Jurisdiction
Federal
Location
Kharg Island, Jask, and the Gulf of Oman, Iran

Abuses documented

Actors

On September 5, 2026, U.S. Central Command struck three Iranian oil tankers after Iran fired ballistic missiles at a U.S. aircraft carrier and a guided-missile destroyer patrolling near the Strait of Hormuz; both ships evaded the missiles and no U.S. personnel were hurt. CENTCOM said it "permanently disabled" the IRGC crude oil carriers M/T Downy, struck off the coast of Kharg Island, and M/T Stark 1, struck near Jask, and "completely destroyed" the unladen tanker M/T Kylo in the Gulf of Oman after hitting it multiple times. "We will not hesitate to defend American forces, and if necessary, destroy Iran's limited and exposed oil fleet," CENTCOM commander Adm. Brad Cooper said in a statement; in a separate on-record statement he added, "If you shoot at two of our ships, we will impose an even higher economic cost — taking out three of yours."

The strikes extended a military campaign against Iran that has continued since the war began on February 28, 2026, without new congressional authorization. In June 2026, Congress passed a first-ever bicameral War Powers Resolution directing the president to end hostilities with Iran; the administration has not complied, instead continuing and escalating strikes under the president's own asserted authority as commander-in-chief. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reinforced the policy on social media the same day, writing, "if Iran shoots at U.S. ships, we will destroy (and sink) their oil tankers. All they have to do is stop shooting at @USNavy."

Iran's Foreign Ministry called the strikes "illegal and aggressive" and a violation of the U.N. Charter; Iran's state broadcaster said its forces struck three oil tankers and three American vessels in response, a claim CENTCOM had not confirmed as of this writing. The strikes came less than a week after the U.S. and Iran resumed attacks following roughly a month of relative calm, and a day after President Trump had sought to minimize the conflict as "small potatoes."

Why we recorded this

The Constitution assigns Congress, not the president alone, the power to authorize and sustain military campaigns, and in June 2026 Congress passed a first-ever bicameral War Powers Resolution directing the president to end hostilities with Iran. Here U.S. Central Command struck three Iranian oil tankers — permanently disabling two and destroying a third — after Iran fired ballistic missiles at U.S. Navy warships, continuing a military campaign under the president's own asserted commander-in-chief authority rather than the authorization Congress's resolution requires. Continuing to escalate a war Congress has directed be wound down extends a pattern of executive war-making that sidelines Congress's constitutional control over the use of force.

Sources

  1. U.S. strikes 3 Iranian oil tankers after saying warships were targeted with ballistic missiles — PBS NewsHour (Associated Press) primary accessed September 7, 2026
  2. US military strikes three Iranian tankers in retaliation for missile attacks — CNN primary accessed September 7, 2026

See also