US Tanker Allegedly Set Ablaze by IRGC Missile

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) says it has launched a missile strike against a United States tanker in the Gulf waters, setting the vessel on fire.

According to detikNews, the war between the United States and Iran has intensified after the IRGC carried out the missile strike on the US tanker.

In a statement, as reported by Tehran’s state television and by AFP, on Thursday (5 March 2026), the IRGC claimed that the US tanker was ‘hit by a missile in the northern Persian Gulf’.

‘This is currently on fire,’ the IRGC said in the statement, referring to the US tanker attacked by its forces. Meanwhile the Iranian attack on the US tanker 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 links the Persian Gulf to the Indian Ocean and is a vital conduit for oil and gas shipments.

The IRGC warned that any vessel attempting to pass through the strategic waterway could suffer damage from stray missiles or drones.

It is understood that the Strait of Hormuz has been closed since the United States and Israel launched a wave of coordinated strikes against Iran on Saturday 28 February local time. Iran retaliated with missile and drone strikes against targets in Israel and US bases in Gulf states.

The IRGC had previously claimed to have attacked a US naval vessel in the Indian Ocean, hundreds of kilometres from Iran’s borders. According to the IRGC, the US destroyer refuelling from a US tanker in the Indian Ocean was struck by Ghadr-380 and Talaeieh missiles.

The IRGC described the missile strike as a ‘devastating attack’ because it targeted a target located more than 600 kilometres from Iran’s southern coast.

According to the IRGC’s intelligence assessment, the strike triggered a ‘widespread fire’ on both naval vessels, with plumes of smoke rising into the sky over the sea. Meanwhile the US has not responded to the claims.