The US military says it struck three Iran-linked oil tankers after ballistic missiles were launched toward two US Navy warships in the region.
US Central Command said one tanker near Kharg Island and another near the Strait of Hormuz were “permanently disabled”. It said a third tanker in the Gulf of Oman was “completely destroyed”.
Centcom said the attacks followed multiple strikes by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps targeting a US aircraft carrier and a guided-missile destroyer. The command said the US ships successfully evaded the attacks and that no American troops were harmed.
Iranian state media earlier reported that one of the country’s oil tankers had been hit by US missiles off the coast of Kharg Island.
“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,” Admiral Brad Cooper, Centcom’s commander, said.
The strikes come amid renewed attacks between the US and Iran and continuing disruption to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. The source report said the US and Israel launched wide-ranging strikes on Iran on 28 February, followed by Iranian attacks on Israel, US bases and allied Gulf states.
