Key facts
- US forces destroyed five Iranian crude oil tankers in response to attempted Iranian missile attacks on a US warship.
- Iran's IRGC claimed responsibility for attacking multiple vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, including US ships and oil tankers.
- Iran's foreign ministry condemned the US strike as a war crime and a violation of the UN Charter.
- The IRGC claimed it attacked US combat destroyers DDG-119 and DDG-53, alleging significant damage.
- US Central Command denied the IRGC's claims of striking US Navy destroyers.
US forces destroyed five Iranian crude oil tankers in response to attempted missile attacks on a US warship, marking an escalation in recent tit-for-tat strikes. US Central Command confirmed the destruction of the tankers after Iran fired missiles at the warship on two separate occasions over two days. Iran's foreign ministry condemned the US action as a war crime and a violation of the UN Charter.
In a further escalation, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed responsibility for attacking multiple vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, describing the area as "forbidden and unsafe." The IRGC stated its navy attacked and "caused great damage" to two American vessels and eight oil tankers in retaliation for earlier US strikes on Iranian vessels. It also targeted 10 "violating ships" attempting to pass through the Strait. The IRGC also said it carried out attacks on US combat destroyers DDG-119 and DDG-53, claiming significant damage to the vessels. US Central Command has rejected the IRGC's assertion that it hit two US Navy destroyers operating in the Middle East, claiming that the reported strikes did not occur and that "all attempted IRGC attacks had failed."