Iran fired undisclosed second wave of missiles at U.S. Navy ships, WSJ reports

Iran fired missiles at U.S. Navy ships on Monday in an attack the American military has not publicly acknowledged, The Wall Street Journal News Corp ↘ 1.65% reported on September 8, citing U.S. officials. The strike, which missed its targets, came just three days after Iran launched ballistic missiles at a U.S. aircraft carrier and guided-missile destroyer on September 5.

No ships were struck in the Monday attack, according to the Journal's report by Shelby Holliday and Costas Paris, but the repeated attempts to target American naval assets mark a troubling pattern of escalation in the months-long conflict over the Strait of Hormuz.wsj+1

A Pattern of Escalation

The undisclosed Monday attack followed a weekend of intensifying hostilities. On September 5, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps fired ballistic missiles at a U.S. aircraft carrier and guided-missile destroyer conducting patrols near the strait. Both warships "successfully evaded multiple unprovoked Iranian attacks" and no American personnel were injured, U.S. Central Command said. In retaliation, the U.S. struck three Iranian crude oil carriers, permanently disabling two and destroying a third.usatoday+2

"Let the message to the IRGC be clear: If you shoot at two of our ships, we will impose an even higher economic cost — taking out three of yours," CENTCOM chief Admiral Brad Cooper said in a statement.fortune

Iran condemned the tanker strikes and threatened further retaliation. "Strike our assets and you get struck," Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf wrote on X, warning that American oil and gas interests in the Persian Gulf "share that exposure."rferl

Wider Regional Fallout

The naval confrontation is unfolding alongside broader turmoil across the region. On September 8, Iran-backed Houthi forces launched a wave of attacks on Saudi Arabia, injuring 73 civilians including women and children in strikes on Abha, Najran, Jizan, and Khamis Mushait. Fires broke out at energy facilities in the southern region, with Saudi Aramco infrastructure in Jizan among the targets hit.rferl

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio accused the Houthis of acting as Iranian proxies. "Behind some of this is clearly the Iranian hand," Rubio told reporters.rferl

Meanwhile, CENTCOM announced it has diverted 94 commercial ships during its naval blockade of Iranian ports, while Iran's floating crude stockpiles have fallen from roughly 90 million barrels in mid-July to about 29 million barrels — reserves that shipping-analytics firm Kpler estimates could be exhausted by mid-October. Britain on September 8 also published legislation introducing tougher sanctions on Iran, expanding trade restrictions and powers to target ships linked to Tehran.rferl