Evidence

Searches for this exact claim turned up only broad coverage of the escalating 2026 US–Iran maritime conflict (Times of Israel, CNN, Axios, NBC News, PBS, Al Jazeera, Military Times, Task & Purpose), which describe numerous US strikes on Iranian oil tankers and Iranian missile/drone attacks on US warships and other vessels around the Strait of Hormuz and Gulf of Oman in August–September 2026. None of these articles, nor any Reuters Fact Check, AFP Fact Check, Bellingcat, or EUvsDisinfo pages found in search, contain the specific US assertion described in the claim — that a particular tanker was struck first by a missile and then by a drone, and that US officials characterized this sequence as pointing to 'a more direct assault.' The web search tool also hit its usage limit partway through this investigation, preventing further targeted searches for the exact phrasing or a matching specific incident.