Iran says US warships withdrew from Oman Sea after missile warning

Ahram Online , Friday 5 Jun 2026

Iran's Navy said Friday that several US naval vessels operating in the Oman Sea withdrew toward the Indian Ocean after receiving missile and drone warnings from Iranian forces, according to the Iranian news agency Tasnim.

The USS Michael Murphy patrolling the Arabian Sea during a maritime blockade in April. AFP
The USS Michael Murphy patrolling the Arabian Sea during a maritime blockade in April. AFP

 

Tasnim reported that the Iranian Navy said it had carried out an operation involving warning shots using Qadir missiles and newly developed offensive drones known as "Martyr Dana" as part of what it described as efforts to counter maritime aggression and harassment by US forces.

According to the report, the Iranian Navy said the operation prompted the withdrawal of US destroyers DDG-103 and DDG-87 from the Oman Sea.

The Navy also stated that other vessels associated with the US Navy's presence in the region, including warships operating alongside the aircraft carrier strike group centered on the USS George H.W. Bush and the amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli, had left the Oman Sea following the warnings.

In a statement carried by Tasnim, the Iranian Navy accused the United States of disrupting regional trade and maritime security and described the US Navy as a "terrorist" force.

The Navy's Operations Command and Control Center said US vessels should cease what it called hostile activities and maritime theft.

"Despite the expansion of the distance between enemy vessels and the range of the missiles used, should the need arise, this force will employ missiles with longer ranges," the statement said, according to Tasnim.

The reported incident comes amid one of the most severe maritime crises in decades, centered on the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic waterway connecting the Gulf to the Arabian Sea through which roughly one-fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas supplies normally pass.

The current standoff emerged following a major escalation in regional tensions earlier this year, following the unilateral start of the US-Israeli military campaign against Iran and the subsequent closure of the Strait of Hormuz by Iranian authorities.

Since early March, Iran has declared the strait closed and has sought to enforce the measure through naval deployments, sea mines, drone boats and threats against commercial shipping, according to regional security assessments.

The United States subsequently established its own maritime blockade targeting Iranian ports after diplomatic talks aimed at de-escalating the crisis collapsed in April.

Shipping data cited by maritime analysts indicates that daily commercial traffic through the strait has fallen by more than 90 percent, from roughly 135 vessels before the crisis to about 11 vessels per day. Hundreds of commercial ships are reportedly stranded in Gulf waters, while major insurers have suspended war-risk coverage for vessels transiting the area.

The disruption has also hit Iranian oil exports, with tanker-tracking organizations reporting a sharp decline in seaborne crude shipments in recent months.

Although Iran and the United States reached a tentative framework for a temporary ceasefire in April, maritime analysts say commercial activity is unlikely to recover quickly even if military tensions ease, citing the need to clear sea mines, restore shipping confidence and re-establish insurance coverage.

The Oman Sea, which lies immediately outside the Strait of Hormuz, has become an increasingly important arena in the confrontation between Iran and the United States as both sides seek to assert control over regional maritime routes and energy flows.

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