What Mattered This Week

MIDDLE EAST — U.S. Central Command said its forces struck three Iranian crude oil carriers on Sept. 5 after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps launched ballistic missiles toward two U.S. Navy warships in regional waters.

The command said an aircraft carrier and a guided-missile destroyer evaded the incoming fire and that no American personnel were harmed.

MIDDLE EAST — U.S. Central Command said Tuesday that its forces successfully completed a wave of strikes against Iranian military targets on September 1.

According to the Command, U.S. forces struck Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) targets including air defense sites, radar systems, maritime assets and facilities, mine laying capabilities, and communications sites.

CENTCOM: “Today at 12 p.m. Et, U.S. forces began striking Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) targets in Iran. The strikes follow recent attempted attacks by the IRGC against commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and against American service members deployed in the region.”

NORFOLK — Naval Station Norfolk, the U.S. Navy installation on Sewell’s Point that Navy Region Mid-Atlantic describes as the largest naval complex in the world, stated on September 1 that it had put in place increased security measures and changed how people enter the base.

The installation said some gates were closed or were running with fewer lanes and told personnel to expect delays and to allow extra time to get on the base. It said it was watching developments with law enforcement and security partners and would change the measures as needed.

Latvian Armed Forces (NBS): “Take action! We inform you that there is a threat in Latvia's airspace. Go indoors, follow the two-wall principle! Follow official announcements. If you notice a low-flying or suspicious object, do not approach it and call 112! We will inform you when the threat has ended. The National Armed Forces of Latvia inform - air threat inLatvian airspace. Seek safe place indoors and follow the two-wall principle. If you see a low-flying and suspicious object, do not approach it and call 112. You will be informed when thethreat has ended.”

Previous Alerts (1 Hour Earlier)

STRAIT OF HORMUZ — The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center, the Royal Navy-sponsored office that records incidents for commercial shipping, said on August 31 that a tanker reported being struck by three unknown projectiles 17 nautical miles, about 20 miles (31 kilometers), east of Khasab, Oman, while finishing an outbound transit of the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway between Oman and Iran that connects the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman.

UKMTO logged the incident as an attack, but the report did not name the tanker, its flag, its owner, or the type of projectile.

INDIAN OCEAN — On August 31 the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) published Advisory 123-26 after a ship’s Captain reported an incident involving a tanker and military forces in the Indian Ocean.

The report gave no vessel name, flag, International Maritime Organization number, course, or crew status, and no latitude or longitude for the contact.

MIDDLE EAST — U.S. Central Command has refuted the claim by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps that strikes by the United States were an “act of aggression”, stating that the U.S. took limited, precise action against IRGC mine-laying forces that posed an imminent threat to civilian mariners, commercial shipping and the free flow of global commerce.

U.S. Central Command: “CLAIM: Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed in a recent statement that strikes by U.S. forces to prevent the IRGC from placing mines in the Strait of Hormuz were an “act of aggression.” This claim is absolutely FALSE.