Axios: US targets two Iranian tankers with missiles for the first time

Axios reporter Barak Ravid, citing US officials, reported that the US military targeted two Iranian oil tankers during a fresh wave of strikes on Tuesday, September 1, 2026 (10 Shahrivar 1405). According to the report, the tankers were anchored near the Iranian coast, north of the US naval blockade line, and were struck in their engine rooms by missiles fired from American drones.

A US official told Axios this was the first time the US had targeted Iranian tankers under the Trump administration's new "tanker for tanker" policy, adopted to increase pressure in response to Iranian attacks on ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz.

Both Ecoiran and Donya e Eqtesad independently carried the Axios report, citing Tasnim news agency.