U.S. forces strike three Iranian oil tankers near Kharg Island after missiles hit Navy warships

American forces struck three Iranian crude oil carriers on Saturday near Kharg Island in the Gulf, U.S. Central Command reported. A crude oil carrier is a vessel that moves unrefined petroleum, the raw form of oil before it is processed into gasoline or other fuels. The strikes followed a missile attack on U.S. Navy warships.

Kharg Island is Iran's key oil export hub in the Gulf. Saturday's strikes placed American military action in its surrounding waters.

Central Command, the U.S. military command for the Middle East, confirmed the engagement and identified three Iranian crude oil carriers as the vessels hit.