The US military says it has hit three Iran-linked oil tankers after ballistic missiles were launched towards two of its warships in the region.
US Central Command (Centcom) said on Saturday it had “permanently disabled” a tanker near Kharg Island and another near the Strait of Hormuz, and “completely destroyed” a third in the Gulf of Oman.
Centcom said it “successfully evaded” multiple attacks from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) targeting a US aircraft carrier and guided-missile destroyer. No American troops were harmed, it said in a statement.
Iranian state media earlier reported that one of its tankers had been struck off the coast of Kharg Island.
Tehran did not immediately acknowledge attacks on US ships.
Admiral Brad Cooper, Centcom’s commander, said in a statement on Saturday: “Let the message to the IRGC be clear: 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.”
Centcom, which oversees US military operations in the Middle East, claimed that the three Iranian oil tankers were “part of a multibillion-dollar shadow network that funds the IRGC and its regional proxies”.
The strikes come nearly a week after renewed attacks between the US and Iran, which followed a period of relative calm between the warring sides.
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The attacks injured at least three people, including a girl, and damaged a Wildberries warehouse, Russian officials say.
Published On 18 Aug 202618 Aug 2026
Russian officials have reported more than 620 overnight drones targeting Moscow, in what appears to be one of Ukraine’s largest attacks on the Russian capital in years.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said Russian defences shot down 180 drones over the capital region between Monday evening and 5am (02:00 GMT) on Tuesday. He said 17 more drones were shot down en route to the capital later.
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Russia’s state-run news agency TASS described the barrage as the largest drone attack on Moscow in the past two years.
The drone attack wounded three people, including a 10-year-old girl, Moscow region’s Governor Andrey Vorobyov said on Telegram. He said the “most serious consequences” were reported in the Pavlovsky Posad district, where a house burned down. Several more homes and a guesthouse were damaged in Bogorodsky district, he added.
A warehouse east of Moscow belonging to e-commerce giant Wildberries was damaged in Tuesday’s drone assault. In a statement, the company said its logistics complex sustained “minor damage” after “debris hit the wall of the building”.
Ukraine has struck multiple Wildberries warehouses in recent weeks, saying the company supplies components for Russian drones.
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian air force reported shooting down or suppressing 111 of 147 “enemy” drone attacks overnight.
Kharkiv’s regional Governor Oleh Syniehubov said five people, including a nine-year-old boy, were injured in an overnight Russian attack on the city of Izyum.
Russian drones also sparked fires and damaged buildings in Kyiv region’s Brovary city, including an office building and warehouses, said Mayor Ihor Sapozhko.
With front-line fighting at a near standstill and talks frozen, Ukraine and Russia have significantly stepped up long-distance attacks, pushing the civilian death toll to its highest levels since the war’s first months in 2022.
In July alone, 437 civilians were killed in Ukraine, the highest monthly toll since May 2022, according to a United Nations tally.
Russian authorities reported 79 civilians killed in Ukrainian attacks in July, up from the previous month.