CAIRO (AP) — The U.S. military on Saturday said it struck three Iranian oil tankers after Navy warships were targeted with missiles, warning that it would “if necessary, destroy Iran’s limited and exposed oil fleet.”
The military’s statement said a U.S. aircraft carrier and a destroyer evaded “multiple unprovoked Iranian attacks” while patrolling in the region and no U.S. personnel were hurt. It said two Iranian oil carriers were “permanently disabled” and the third, unladen one, was destroyed.
The U.S. statement said the tankers were part of a shadow network helping to fund Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guard and its armed proxies in the region.
Earlier, Iran accused the U.S. of attacking an Iranian tanker near Kharg Island in the Persian Gulf.
The U.S. said one tanker was struck off Kharg Island and another was struck near Jask. The unladen tanker was hit in the Gulf of Oman. The statement shared what it called video footage of the strikes.
The strikes came nearly a week after the U.S. and Iran resumed attacks following a month of relative calm in the on-again, off-again war that began with U.S. and Israeli attacks on Feb. 28. Both sides have sought to inflict both military and economic pain, and negotiations have collapsed.
“We will not hesitate to defend American forces, and if necessary, destroy Iran’s limited and exposed oil fleet,” the head of U.S. Central Command Adm. Brad Cooper said.