2026 Iran War: 2026-09-09

BBC reported that among US strikes on five Iranian-linked tankers, CENTCOM later said the M/T Riesco sank in the Gulf of Oman and posted video of the damaged ship. The strikes followed Iranian attempts against a US warship, which CENTCOM said were evaded with no US troop casualties. Iran said it hit US vessels and oil tankers in Hormuz in response; independent confirmation of those Iranian ship-hit claims was limited.

UKMTO reported a listing vessel about 24 nautical miles northwest of Port Rashid, UAE, early Wednesday, with possible water ingress after an attack by an unidentified projectile. The report was relayed by Middle East Spectator. Vessel identity and responsibility were not confirmed in the initial advisory.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters in Colombia that Iran keeps trying to hit US naval ships and that each attempt will cost Tehran tankers. "And I think you'll see that again today," Rubio said, according to BBC reporting on the latest US-Iran maritime escalation.

CENTCOM spokesman Capt. Tim Hawkins said a US underwater drone that Iran claimed to have seized near Hormuz malfunctioned more than a day earlier. Hawkins said it was an older survey model that neither collected sensitive data nor carried classified sonar or radar equipment, and that US regional water operations continued.

BBC reported Brent crude climbed above $100 a barrel on Wednesday for the first time since July, then eased near $99.90. The move followed US strikes on Iranian-linked tankers, Iranian retaliation around Jordan and the Strait of Hormuz, and Houthi attacks on Saudi energy sites.

Saudi authorities said Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis struck energy and civilian sites in Abha, Khamis Mushait, Jazan and Najran on Tuesday, injuring 73 people and briefly halting some oil operations. The Saudi-led coalition called the attacks a dangerous escalation and said it would respond. The Houthis said the strikes answered recent Saudi air raids in Yemen.