The United States on Tuesday claimed to have destroyed five Iranian crude oil tankers following alleged attempts by Iran to attack a US Navy warship, the US Central Command ( CENTCOM ) said. Thereafter, Tehran claimed to have struck a US military base in Jordan on Wednesday, and issued warnings to tankers near ports in Kuwait and Bahrain.
The US attack on Iranian oil tankers came in response to alleged attempts by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to target a US Navy warship. The US also claimed to have hit M/T Derya near Kharg Island. “Iran continues to try to hit US naval ships. And for every time they do that or try to do that, they’re going to lose tankers.
The CENTCOM said it destroyed the IRGC crude oil tankers M/T Kaviz, M/T Charminar, M/T Horizon 1 and M/T Riesco, which were located in the Gulf of Oman. Jordan’s army meanwhile said it shot down 18 Iranian missiles launched in its direction.
The warship however “successfully evaded” the ballistic missiles launched twice by Iran over the past two days and “continued to patrol regional waters”, the CENTCOM said, adding that there was no American casualty. “American forces directed the crews to abandon ship before the vessels were struck and rendered inoperable,” a statement by the CENTCOM read. And I think you’ll see that again today,” Rubio said.
