US Sinks Five Iranian Tankers as Iran Claims Missile Retaliation Against Jordan Base
Fire between the United States and Iran in the Gulf escalated overnight from November 3 into the morning of November 4, 2026. U.S. Central Command said late on November 3 that Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) had twice sought to target a U.S. warship over the past two days, but that the vessel "successfully evaded the attempted Iranian attacks" and no American personnel were harmed. U.S. forces then struck and destroyed five Iranian oil tankers: M/T Kaviz, M/T Charminar, M/T Horizon 1 and M/T Riesco in the Gulf of Oman, and M/T Derya near Kharg island. Central Command said American forces directed the crews to abandon ship before the vessels were struck and rendered inoperable, and later published a video it said showed M/T Riesco sinking in the Gulf of Oman.
Iran confirmed that five tankers were targeted and said it had retaliated. The IRGC said it subjected the Al-Azraq base in Jordan to "fierce missile strikes" and claimed that hangars used by U.S. fighter jets were destroyed; it also claimed ballistic missile attacks on the U.S. Navy destroyers DDG-119 and DDG-53 causing "significant damage," and subsequently said its naval forces targeted "two American vessels and 8 tankers," causing great damage. Al Jazeera noted it was not clear whether the two "American vessels" in the later statement were the same destroyers named earlier, and there was no immediate U.S. comment on the Iranian claims.
The Jordanian Armed Forces said the country's air defenses engaged 20 ballistic missiles, "successfully intercepting and destroying 18 of them," while two fell in unpopulated areas; the attacks caused no casualties, and specialized teams began securing the locations where debris fell. Iran's Foreign Ministry condemned the U.S. attacks on Iranian tankers as a violation of the United Nations charter, calling them a "war crime," and warned that Washington and its partners bear full responsibility for the consequences. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, during a visit to Colombia, defended the strikes, saying that for every time Iran tries to hit U.S. naval ships, "they're going to lose tankers."
The exchange comes six months into the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, with Tehran closing the Strait of Hormuz and Washington enforcing a naval blockade on Iranian ports. The U.S. had previously attacked three Iranian oil tankers on September 5, one of which sank.
(Source: Al Jazeera)
Source: Al Jazeera
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：美国海军航空母舰编队通过霍尔木兹海峡（美国海军资料图）。美国海军 摄，公共领域，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: A U.S. Navy carrier strike group transits the Strait of Hormuz (U.S. Navy file photo). By U.S. Navy, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
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