US Forces Destroy Five IRGC-Linked Oil Tankers After Ballistic Missile Attempts on US Warship

Great-power navies have clashed over Persian Gulf shipping lanes before—most notably the 1987-88 “Tanker War,” when the US reflagged Kuwaiti vessels and mined Iranian waters, culminating in Operation Praying Mantis (April 18 1988) that sank half Iran’s fleet. Today’s strike echoes that episode but shifts the focus from escorting third-party tankers to deliberately crippling the opponent’s export lifeline, blending kinetic action with economic strangulation. The incident lays bare two long-running trends: 1) the weaponization of energy chokepoints as leverage in asymmetrical conflicts, and 2) Washington’s growing preference for precision interdiction over large-scale invasions. Media on both sides—US press amplifying CENTCOM’s casualty-free narrative and Iranian outlets stressing impending retaliation—serve domestic audiences and obscure the fog of maritime warfare. Whether this matters in a century hinges on energy transition: if oil dominance wanes, control of Hormuz may resemble the faded importance of the 19th-century Malacca piracy routes; but if petro-politics persists, this week could mark the point the Gulf rivalry tipped from shadow sanctions to open commerce-raiding, setting a precedent for future great-power competition over critical sea lanes.