The U.S. military’s Central Command struck five Iranian oil tankers on September 8 after Iran attempted missile attacks on a U.S. Navy warship, according to a CENTCOM statement reported by Al Jazeera. Brent crude touched \$99 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate hit \$94 on Wednesday morning — oil’s first approach to the \$100 mark in more than a month — as traders priced in the risk of wider disruption to Gulf shipping.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps retaliated with missile strikes on the Al Azraq air base in Jordan. Jordan’s military said it intercepted 18 of the 20 incoming missiles, with the remaining two landing in unpopulated areas and causing no casualties. Iran also claimed to have struck the U.S. Navy destroyers DDG-119 and DDG-53; CENTCOM says no American personnel were harmed and has not confirmed any damage to the ships — a claim that remains unverified.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on the record: “Iran continues to try to hit US naval ships, and for every time they do that or try to do that, they’re going to lose tankers.” CME futures data now shows traders pricing a 60 per cent chance of a Federal Reserve rate move this month amid the supply-disruption fears — a move watched closely in Canada, since Bank of Canada rate decisions tend to track the Fed’s.
Source: Al Jazeera, “US destroys five Iranian tankers, Iran retaliates with attacks on Jordan base,” 9 September 2026, citing statements from U.S. Central Command and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
