US military forces reportedly struck Iranian oil tankers near Kharg Island and the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday night, according to several military sources cited by Fox News. The strikes form part of a wider American economic strategy aimed at weakening Iran's economy by sinking or disabling crude tankers, cutting off the regime's ability to profit from oil exports that help fund the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and its regional proxies. Neither the White House, the Pentagon nor US Central Command (CENTCOM) had responded to requests for comment at the time of publication.

The latest action follows a previous round of strikes near Kharg Island last week, in which CENTCOM said three Iranian tankers were sunk or disabled as part of a "multibillion-dollar shadow network" backing the IRGC. The renewed strikes come as American petrol prices climb, with the average price of a gallon of regular petrol now at $4.15, almost a dollar higher than a year ago and at a record high over the Labor Day weekend. President Donald Trump has said prices will "drop precipitously" once the conflict ends, but the disconnect between his forecasts and current costs poses a political risk for him and Republicans ahead of November's midterm elections, with affordability and the unpopular war weighing on voter sentiment.