Iran targeted two US Navy warships with ballistic missiles while they were patrolling regional waters, according to US Central Command (CENTCOM), in a fresh escalation between Tehran and Washington.
The American military said an aircraft carrier and a guided-missile destroyer successfully evaded multiple attacks launched by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. No US personnel were injured, CENTCOM said.
In response, US forces struck three Iranian crude oil tankers, disabling two and destroying a third, according to the command. The vessels were identified as the M/T Downy, off the coast of Kharg Island, the M/T Stark 1, near Jask, and the unladen M/T Kylo, also known as the Noxen, in the Gulf of Oman.
CENTCOM said the tankers were linked to a network that helped finance the IRGC and its regional allies. The strikes were described as a direct response to the missile attacks on the American warships.
Adm Brad Cooper, the CENTCOM commander, said the US would continue to defend its forces and warned that Iran’s oil fleet remained exposed.
Iranian state media earlier reported that an oil tanker had been hit by US missiles near Kharg Island, home to the country’s main crude export terminal. The Iranian Foreign Ministry condemned the US strikes as illegal and aggressive, accusing Washington of waging an economic war against Iran.
