Donald Trump‘s fury toward Iran continued on Tuesday as the US launched an attack targeting multiple Iranian oil tankers near Kharg Island in the Persian Gulf.Trump’s forces in the Middle East, the US Central Command, released satellite video showing the destruction of Iranian crude oil carriers on September 8.However, Iran’s Mojtaba Khamenei-led Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) vowed strong retaliation for the attack ordered by the Trump administration.The US attack came after the IRGC targeted a US navy warship with ballistic missiles twice over the past two days.The US navy warship evaded both Iranian missile attacks and continued its patrol in regional waters.No US personnel were injured, Centcom said.The US military said its forces destroyed the Iranian crude oil carriers M/T Kaviz, M/T Charminar, M/T Horizon 1 and M/T Riesco in the Gulf of Oman, along with M/T Derya near Kharg Island.According to Centcom, US forces ordered the crews to abandon the vessels before striking them, leaving the tankers inoperable.The US military said Iran had used the tankers as part of a multibillion-dollar “shadow network” to fund the IRGC and its regional proxy groups.The strikes came days after Centcom said it destroyed three other Iranian crude oil carriers on September 5. The US said the earlier strikes followed an attempted Iranian attack on a US aircraft carrier and a guided-missile destroyer.Centcom said all attempts by the IRGC to attack US navy warships had failed.The latest strikes follow a US attack on an Iranian tanker about six miles from Kharg Island over the weekend.Separately, the Trump administration on Tuesday imposed sweeping sanctions on Iran’s aviation sector, targeting 27 Iranian airlines and nine service providers and sales agents accused of providing services to Mahan Air.The privately owned airline has been under US sanctions since 2011 and is accused by Washington of supporting the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).The latest escalation follows reports that Iran attempted to attack US navy ships on Monday.The attempt came after Iran fired ballistic missiles at a US aircraft carrier and a guided-missile destroyer over the weekend.
