US hits three Iranian oil tankers after saying its warships were targeted

On Saturday, the US military announced it had destroyed three Iranian oil tankers after Iranian ballistic missiles were fired at two of its warships in the region. The US Central Command (Centcom) claimed to have "permanently disabled" one tanker near Kharg Island and "completely destroyed" another near the Strait of Hormuz, as well as a third tanker in the Gulf of Oman.

Centcom reported that it had "successfully evaded" multiple attacks from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) aimed at a US aircraft carrier and a guided-missile destroyer. No American personnel were injured in the attacks. Iranian state media reported earlier that one of their tankers had been hit off the coast of Kharg Island, but did not confirm the US claims of attacking US ships.

Admiral Brad Cooper, Centcom's commander, stated that the US would "impose an even higher economic cost" on Iran if Iran attacked its ships, saying they would target three more Iranian tankers. Centcom argued that the three oil tankers were part of a "multibillion-dollar shadow network" that funds the IRGC and its regional proxies.

The strikes occurred nearly a week after renewed attacks between the US and Iran, following a period of relative calm between the two sides. US Vice-President JD Vance said the military was investigating claims that American strikes killed at least four people, including two children, at a wedding in southern Iran, while Tehran declared the event a "war crime".

The 60-day ceasefire between the US and Iran expired last month without any progress towards a diplomatic resolution, and tensions have risen since, leading the US to impose stricter economic sanctions on Iran and Israel.