On Saturday, September 5, 2026, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC (Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps)) fired ballistic missiles at a US aircraft carrier and a guided-missile destroyer in the Middle East, US Central Command (CENTCOM, which oversees American forces in the region) said. Both ships evaded the incoming fire, CENTCOM said, and no American service members were hurt.
Key facts
- When: Saturday, September 5, 2026 — Iran fired the missiles; CENTCOM said the tanker M/T Kylo had gone fully under by Sunday, September 6.
- What happened: Iran’s IRGC fired ballistic missiles at a US aircraft carrier and a guided-missile destroyer; both ships evaded the fire, and no Americans were hurt.
- US response: US forces disabled two Iranian tankers — the M/T Downy off Kharg Island and the M/T Stark 1 near Jask — and destroyed a third, the unladen M/T Kylo, in the Gulf of Oman.
- Casualties: None reported among the tanker crews; no American casualties.
- Disputed account: Iran says its missiles struck and damaged the carrier and destroyer and that its forces also hit six other vessels; the US has not confirmed any part of that account.
- Background: Part of a war that began February 28, 2026; the most recent ceasefire collapsed July 8, and fighting was described as “renewed” from September 1.
- Oil prices: Brent crude has been trading near $101 a barrel amid the broader conflict.
US strikes three Iranian tankers
The US retaliated within hours. CENTCOM said American forces permanently disabled two Iranian oil tankers — the M/T Downy off Kharg Island, Iran’s main oil export terminal, and the M/T Stark 1 near Jask — and destroyed a third, the unladen M/T Kylo, in the Gulf of Oman. CENTCOM’s own release settles the naming: it calls the ship “M/T Kylo (also known as the ‘Noxen’)” — one vessel, two names, not two accounts.
CENTCOM did not spell out what “permanently disabled” means in physical terms. None of the coverage reviewed for this piece includes footage or description of the Downy or the Stark 1 comparable to what CENTCOM released of the Kylo — so whether either of those two ships is still afloat is not established in the reporting available.
The Kylo’s crew had been ordered to abandon ship before it was hit, and because the tanker was not carrying oil there was no spill; CENTCOM released footage of the sinking and said that by Sunday, September 6, the ship had gone fully under. Iranian state media reported no casualties among the crew of the tanker struck near Kharg Island — the Downy — and said that crew was being evacuated; no comparable reporting on the Stark 1’s crew was found.
US officials explain the response
CENTCOM commander Adm. Brad Cooper described the response as a deliberate mismatch meant to raise the cost of any further Iranian attack: “If you shoot at two of our ships, we will impose an even higher economic cost — taking out three of yours. We will not hesitate to defend American forces, and if necessary, destroy Iran’s limited and exposed oil fleet.” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth put the policy more bluntly on X: “if Iran shoots at U.S. ships, we will destroy (and sink) their oil tankers. All they have to do is stop shooting.”
Iran disputes the US account
Iran’s Foreign Ministry condemned the tanker strikes as “illegal and aggressive,” calling them a violation of the UN Charter and a threat to international shipping. But Iran did not stop at protest. By Sunday, the IRGC put out its own account of the naval clash that directly contradicts CENTCOM’s version of events. The Guard says it fired “several ballistic missiles” that struck and damaged both the carrier and the destroyer, forcing them to leave the area — and separately claims its forces also targeted three more oil tankers on “unauthorized routes” through the Strait of Hormuz, plus three additional vessels it describes as “affiliated with” the United States.
The US has not confirmed any part of the IRGC’s account: not the claimed damage to the carrier or destroyer, and not the claimed strikes on the six additional vessels. Neither the carrier nor the destroyer has been named publicly by CENTCOM or identified by name in the major reporting on this story.
A history of disputed claims
This is not the first time the two sides have told opposite stories about a naval strike. In a separate, earlier incident on March 1, 2026, the IRGC claimed to have hit the USS Abraham Lincoln with four ballistic missiles; CENTCOM denied it. The ship and destroyer involved in the September 5 clash have not been identified as the Lincoln or as any other named vessel — that was a distinct episode with its own disputed claims, months before this one.
Timeline: six months of escalation
- February 28, 2026: The US and Israel struck Iran and killed senior Iranian leadership, starting the war.
- Early April 2026: A ceasefire took hold.
- Mid-June 2026: The ceasefire was formalized in a memorandum.
- July 8, 2026: The truce collapsed.
- August 17, 2026: A follow-up deadline passed without a final agreement.
- September 1, 2026: Hostilities were described as “renewed.”
- Around September 2, 2026: US forces hit two Iranian tankers off Jask.
- September 5-6, 2026: Iran fired missiles at two US Navy ships; the US disabled two tankers and destroyed a third in response.
The exchange sits inside a war that has been running for more than six months. Fighting began February 28, 2026, when the US and Israel struck Iran and killed senior Iranian leadership. A ceasefire took hold in early April and was formalized in a memorandum in mid-June — but it didn’t last. The truce collapsed on July 8. A follow-up deadline then passed on August 17 without a final agreement, and hostilities were described as “renewed” starting September 1.
The Strait of Hormuz, the waterway the disabled and destroyed tankers were moving through or near, has been effectively closed to normal shipping since the war’s first day. Saturday’s tanker strikes were not the campaign’s opening move, either — US forces had already hit two Iranian tankers off Jask around September 2, days earlier. Reporting on the two strikes treats them as separate episodes within the same renewed round of fighting; nothing found draws a direct line from the September 2 strike to Iran’s September 5 missile launch, and neither is described as a response to the other.
Effect on oil markets
Oil markets have been reacting to the broader war for months: Brent crude has been trading near $101 a barrel through this stretch, after repeated spikes tied to Hormuz tensions since June. No reporting reviewed for this piece ties a specific price move on September 5 or 6 to that day’s exchange alone.
What happens next
What happens next is unsettled on both sides. Ebrahim Zolfaghari, spokesman for Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters (Iran’s main military command), warned that if the US continues striking Iranian vessels and what Iran calls a naval blockade, Iran’s retaliation “will be more severe than before” and could expand. As of September 6, 2026, neither side had announced any truce.