US Forces Destroy Five Iranian Oil Carriers After Failed Missile Attacks — USO, UCO Gain As Oil Prices Rise

U.S. Central Command said the vessels were part of an Iranian shadow network used to fund the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and regional proxies.

• CENTCOM said the five carriers were targeted in the Gulf of Oman and near Kharg Island, with crews ordered to abandon the vessels beforehand.
• The latest action follows the destruction of three Iranian crude carriers on September 5 after attacks on a U.S. aircraft carrier and guided-missile destroyer.
• USO gained 0.31%, and UCO rose 0.41% in Tuesday after-hours trading.

U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) forces said they destroyed five Iranian crude oil carriers on Tuesday after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) targeted a U.S. Navy warship with ballistic missiles twice over the past two days.

Crude oil prices gained amid the latest development, even as CENTCOM said the U.S. warship evaded the attacks and continued to patrol regional waters, with no American personnel harmed.

Five Oil Carriers Destroyed

CENTCOM said it destroyed the IRGC crude oil carriers M/T Kaviz, M/T Charminar, M/T Horizon 1 and M/T Riesco in the Gulf of Oman, as well as M/T Derya near Kharg Island.

American forces directed the crews to abandon the ships before the vessels were struck and rendered inoperable.

Iran has used the tankers as part of a multibillion-dollar shadow network that funds the IRGC and its regional proxies, according to CENTCOM. Iran has no means by which to defend these vessels.

Earlier Attacks

On September 5, CENTCOM forces destroyed three Iranian crude oil carriers after the IRGC tried to attack a U.S. aircraft carrier and guided-missile destroyer.

All IRGC attempts against U.S. Navy warships have failed, CENTCOM said.

What Is Stocktwits Retail Saying?

At the time of writing on Tuesday after-hours, U.S. equities were mixed. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY), SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust (DIA) and Invesco QQQ Trust ETF (QQQ) were all flat after ending the regular session in the red.

Stocktwits retail sentiment for SPY was ‘neutral,’ for DIA was ‘bearish,’ and for QQQ was ‘bullish.’

The United States Oil Fund (USO), which tracks the price of West Texas Intermediate, was up 0.31% at the time of writing on Tuesday, and retail sentiment was ‘bearish.’

ProShares Ultra Bloomberg Crude Oil (UCO) was up 0.41%, while retail sentiment was ‘bullish.’ ProShares Ultra Bloomberg Natural Gas (BOIL) was down 0.15%. Sentiment was ‘bullish.’

Crude Oil Brent futures (QA_F) and WTI Crude Oil futures (WS_F) were higher by 1.12% and 1.69%, respectively.

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