Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Attacks US-Flagged Tanker in Gulf Waters

IRGC said it had launched a missile strike against a United States-flagged oil tanker in Gulf waters on Thursday, 5 March. Tehran claimed the US tanker was on fire after being struck by their missile attack. In its statement, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), as reported by Iran’s state television and AFP on Thursday, 5 March 2026, claimed that the US tanker was ‘hit by a missile in the northern Gulf’. ‘Currently burning,’ the IRGC said, referring to the US tanker attacked by its forces. The attack has not been independently verified. The incident comes as the IRGC announced that it now has ‘full control’ over the waters of the Strait of Hormuz, which connects the Persian Gulf to the Indian Ocean and is a vital shipping lane for oil and gas. The IRGC warned that any vessel attempting to pass through the strategic waterway risks being damaged by missiles or stray drones. The Strait of Hormuz has been closed since the US and Israel launched a wave of coordinated attacks on Iran on Saturday, 28 February local time. Iran retaliated with missile and drone strikes against targets in Israel and US bases in Gulf states. Earlier, the IRGC claimed to have attacked a US military vessel in the Indian Ocean, hundreds of kilometres from Iran’s border. The US destroyer refuelling from a US tanker in the Indian Ocean, the IRGC claimed, was struck by Ghadr-380 and Talaeieh missiles. IRGC described the missile strike as a ‘devastating attack’ because it targeted a vessel more than 600 kilometres from Iran’s southern coast. As the destroyer was refuelling from the American tanker when hit by the missile, IRGC intelligence said the attack triggered ‘widespread fires’ on both military vessels, causing plumes of smoke to rise over the sea. The United States has not yet responded to Iran’s claims.