The Second Tanker War: Why the U.S. Is Targeting the IRGC's Floating Economy Instead of Iran's Cities
By: Reza Hoseani
Introduction: From a City-Centered Doctrine to a Maritime Strategy
The six-month war between the United States and the Islamic Republic of Iran has entered a phase that is strategically distinct from all previous conflicts in the Middle East. It is no longer a campaign focused on bombing cities and urban infrastructure, but a precise economic war at sea.
In the largest wave of retaliatory actions since the war began, Tehran announced it had targeted ten vessels near the Strait of Hormuz after the United States sank five Iranian tankers. The development suggests Washington is deliberately avoiding strikes on urban areas to avoid alienating the Iranian public, and is instead targeting what is described as the IRGC’s economic lifeline: the shadow tanker fleet used to move billions of dollars in oil to circumvent sanctions.[1]
Historical Context: A Different Kind of Tanker War
This is not the first tanker war in the Gulf. During the 1984-1988 Tanker War, as part of the Iran-Iraq War, both sides indiscriminately attacked commercial shipping to exert economic pressure. What distinguishes the current confrontation is its selectivity: rather than targeting all commercial traffic, U.S. strikes are focused specifically on vessels identified as part of Iran’s sanctions-evasion network.[2]
1. The New U.S. Doctrine: “One Missile of Yours, Three Tankers of Ours”
Unlike in the past, the United States has stated its strategy openly on social media.
On September 5, 2025, U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth wrote on X: “It’s simple: If Iran fires on American ships, we will destroy and sink their tankers.” In the same message, he highlighted what he called Iran’s main vulnerability: “Iran’s tanker fleet is defenseless — Iran has neither a navy nor an air force”.[3]
The threat was immediately followed by action from U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM). Admiral Brad Cooper, Commander of CENTCOM, said after strikes on three Iranian tankers on September 5 — carried out in response to Iran’s ballistic missile attack on two U.S. warships — : “The message to the IRGC should be clear: If you fire on two of our ships, we will impose a higher economic cost — we will strike three of your ships.” He described the tankers as part of “a multibillion-dollar shadow network that funds the IRGC and its proxies,” adding that Iran “has no means of defending them” and that the U.S. would destroy Iran’s “limited and exposed” oil fleet if necessary.[4]
2. Tehran’s Narrative: Threats from a Position of Weakness
The response from Tehran has combined threats with an implicit admission of vulnerability.
Ebrahim Zolfaqari, senior spokesman of Iran’s armed forces, called the U.S. strikes a “blatant violation” and warned that Iranian forces would target American bases “more severely than before” if the strikes continued.[5]
In practice, those threats have not materialized as described.
Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, Speaker of the Iranian Parliament, wrote that facilities of American oil and gas companies across the region were “within reach” and threatened: “If you strike our facilities, you will be hit as well. We have already proved it. Ask the bases that are no longer operational”. The statement illustrates Tehran’s shift from defending its own fleet — which it appears unable to do — to threatening civilian and economic infrastructure elsewhere.[6]
3. An Expanding Front: From Jordan to the Persian Gulf
The speed of regionalization distinguishes this conflict from the 1980s tanker war.
The IRGC announced it had launched ballistic missiles at two U.S.-related bases in Jordan: King Hussein Air Base and Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Azraq.[7]
The Jordanian Armed Forces said its air defenses intercepted 18 of 20 missiles, with the remaining two falling in uninhabited areas and causing no casualties. A U.S. official described the attacks as “ineffective,” stating all American personnel were safe. While these claims have not been independently verified, nor has Iran provided evidence of damage to the bases.[8]
On the Gulf front, the reaction was sharper. The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) — Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait and Oman — through Secretary-General Jassem Al-Budaiwi, condemned in the strongest terms Iran’s attack on the Saudi tanker SIDR in the Strait of Hormuz, which reportedly killed crew members. Al-Budaiwi also called the attack on a tanker operated by the UAE’s ADNOC a “dangerous and unacceptable escalation,” stating that targeting maritime navigation and civilian facilities is a clear violation of international law.[9]
Anwar Gargash, adviser to the UAE President, said using the Strait of Hormuz “as a tool of economic coercion or blackmail amounts to acts of piracy by the IRGC”.[10]
4. The Proxy Dimension: The Houthis and the Shift to the Red Sea
When under pressure in the Strait of Hormuz, Tehran has historically activated its proxy in Yemen to open a second chokepoint at Bab el-Mandeb and the Red Sea.
Simultaneously with U.S. strikes on Iranian tankers, the Iran-backed Houthis launched attacks on several Saudi cities and Aramco facilities. News agencies reported that “the Middle East war intensified on Tuesday with Houthi attacks on several Saudi cities, as U.S. forces targeted several Iranian tankers,” with more than 70 people wounded.[11]
Yahya Saree, the Houthis’ military spokesman, claimed responsibility, saying the group had targeted Aramco facilities and the Jazan refinery with “dozens of ballistic missiles and drones,” an action that pushed global oil prices toward $100 per barrel and disrupted Saudi exports via the Red Sea.[12]
Conclusion: Economic Strangulation and the Changing Balance of Power
A final analysis suggests the new U.S. strategy is more sophisticated than urban warfare. Striking urban areas in Iran would likely generate national solidarity against a foreign attacker. Sinking IRGC-linked tankers, by contrast, targets a revenue source that funds the IRGC and its proxies and enjoys little public legitimacy inside Iran.
This puts Tehran under severe pressure. Its sanctions-hit economy relies heavily on a network of shell companies and unregistered tankers — a system estimated to include more than 400 vessels — which has now become extremely costly to operate. The indiscriminate missile launches at U.S. bases in Jordan and the direction of Houthi strikes on Saudi oil infrastructure appear to be attempts to compensate for losses at sea.[13]
The process points toward a comprehensive economic strangulation of the Iranian oil export system and the full enforcement of U.S. secondary sanctions on dollar-denominated transactions, potentially leading to the financial collapse of the IRGC’s network before any military collapse.
CENTCOM Press Release, Sep 2025 / Iranian Foreign Ministry Statement
Background: Martin, The Tanker War 1984-88 – for historical comparison
X post by @PeteHegseth, Sep 5, 2025 – Screenshot
CENTCOM briefing by Adm. Brad Cooper, Sep 5, 2025
IRIB / Tasnim report quoting Ebrahim Zolfaqari
X post by @Qalibaf
IRGC statement via Sepah News
Jordan Armed Forces statement + U.S. official via Reuters/AP
GCC Secretariat statement via Jassem Al-Budaiwi
Statement by Anwar Gargash, via WAM / The National
Reuters/AP: Houthi attacks on Saudi cities, date
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree statement + Bloomberg on oil price
U.S. Treasury / United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) report on shadow fleet size[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13]
About the Author
Reza Hoseani has been writing on political and social developments in Iran and the Middle East for over two decades. His main focus is on strategies to contain the Iranian regime’s warmongering and to support the Iranian people’s democratic movements.
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