US, Iran trade oil tanker strikes as Hormuz confrontation escalates

Iran on Saturday launched retaliatory strikes on three oil tankers following US attacks on three Iranian tankers earlier in the day, with the confrontation over the Strait of Hormuz intensifying in the latest exchange of fire since renewed hostilities flared up between the two sides last week.

The navy of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) said on Saturday that it had targeted three oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz and three US-affiliated vessels elsewhere in retaliation for the US attacks on Iranian tankers.

The three tankers that were struck in the strait were crossing the waterway through the "unauthorized" route, the navy said in a statement published on the IRGC's official news outlet Sepah News, adding that three other vessels were hit in other regions.

The navy also urged all vessels in the Gulf and near the Strait of Hormuz to refrain from being "deceived" by the US Army and any suspicious movements to transit the waterway through "unauthorized" routes, or they will be targeted.

IRGC confirms it attacked 2 US warships The IRGC confirmed early Sunday that its aerospace forces attacked US warships with several ballistic missiles within the preceding hours: an aircraft carrier and a destroyer belonging to the US Navy, adding that the US vessels had harassed Iranian ships and participated in the naval blockade against the country.

The two US warships "were forced to flee the conflict zone" after "sustaining damage and fearing further attacks," it said in a statement.

That came after the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said hours ago on social media that US forces struck three Iranian crude oil carriers in response to the IRGC's ballistic missiles toward two US Navy warships patrolling regional waters.

In a statement on Saturday, CENTCOM said that no American personnel were harmed in the attacks.

The US military "permanently disabled" the IRGC crude oil carriers M/T Downy off the coast of Kharg Island and M/T Stark 1 near Jask, and "completely destroyed" the unladen crude oil carrier M/T Kylo in the Gulf of Oman, according to CENTCOM.

The statement said the Kylo was struck in multiple critical locations to render it inoperable after its crew was directed to abandon ship.

Following the incident, Ebrahim Zolfaghari, spokesman for Iran's main military command, Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, warned the United States against continuing its attacks on Iranian vessels as well as the naval blockade against the country.