According to a report by Axios, citing U.S. officials, the U.S. military carried out attacks on two tankers owned by the Iranian government as part of an airstrike operation conducted on Tuesday evening.
A U.S. official stated that this action is part of President Donald Trump's new 'tanker-for-tanker' policy, aimed at deterring Iranian attacks on oil tankers traversing the strait, Axios reported.
This marks the first occasion where the U.S. military has launched strikes on Iranian oil tankers in response to Iranian attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz—not to prevent them from violating a maritime blockade.
The Iranian government-owned tankers were anchored off the Iranian coast, north of the U.S. maritime blockade line.
American drones fired missiles that hit the engine rooms of the vessels.
A U.S. official conveyed that the purpose of targeting the tankers was to reduce the risk of Iranian attacks on oil tankers, U.S. Navy vessels, and Air Force planes.
A senior U.S. official told Axios that the new strikes diminished Iranian offensive capabilities in the strait, providing at least a month of lowered threat levels to commercial ships.
Axios quoted U.S. officials as saying the targets included air defense sites, radar systems, mine-laying capabilities, communication nodes, and anti-ship cruise missile launch platforms, as well as offensive drone launch platforms.
Their response was unsuccessful, with Iran firing around 25 ballistic missiles, half of which barely reached Jordanian airspace. Ten missiles were intercepted, and three landed without causing injuries.
A U.S. official noted that Iran launched about 24 drones toward U.S. bases in Bahrain, most of which were intercepted.
Ballistic missiles and drones were also launched at U.S. bases in Kuwait. Two drones targeted a U.S. base in Erbil, Iraqi Kurdistan, but were intercepted.
A U.S. official told Axios that around 40 ships traversed the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, carrying millions of barrels of oil.
A source indicated that U.S. forces intercepted anti-ship cruise missiles and drones launched by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard toward the vessels.