The United States military confirmed on Friday the destruction of three Iranian oil tankers operating in the Persian Gulf, in what the Pentagon described as a response to attempted missile attacks on American naval vessels earlier in the week.
The strikes, carried out by guided-missile destroyers of the U.S. Fifth Fleet, targeted tankers that American intelligence officials said were part of a sanctions-evasion network used to fund Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and its regional proxy operations.
Iran's Supreme National Security Council condemned the strikes as "acts of maritime piracy" and warned of "tougher reprisals," escalating rhetoric that has alarmed energy markets and prompted emergency consultations at NATO headquarters in Brussels.
Brent crude futures surged 6.8 percent to $94.70 per barrel in Asian trading following the announcement, while Lloyd's of London raised its war-risk insurance premiums for vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz by an additional 1.5 percentage points.
The United Nations Security Council has called an emergency session for Monday to address the escalation, with European members pushing for a maritime de-escalation framework modeled on Cold War-era naval incidents agreements.
