The U.S. Navy disclosed Tuesday that one of its oil tankers in the Middle East suffered significant damage while at sea, complicating a fraught deterrence mission as hostilities between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah threaten to engulf the region in violence.

The lone US Navy oil-replenishment ship in the Mideast that recently filled up the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier has sustained damage as Iran-backed terror groups continue to lay siege to the region,

The delicate rescue mission aimed to head off a major environmental disaster after the oil tanker was attacked by Houthi rebels off the coast of Yemen last month.