US says it hit Iran oil tankers helping finance ‘regional proxies’

The US military has reportedly disabled or destroyed three Iranian oil tankers following attacks on its Navy warships. According to a statement released on Saturday, an aircraft carrier and a destroyer evaded multiple unprovoked Iranian missile strikes without any casualties. Two of the tankers were said to have been permanently disabled, while the third, which was unladen, was destroyed.

The US military attributed the action to the tankers' involvement in funding Iran's Revolutionary Guard. US Central Command head Admiral Brad Cooper warned that Iran would face an even higher economic cost if it continues to target US ships. Iran had earlier claimed that its tanker was attacked by four US missiles near Kharg Island in the Persian Gulf, stating that the crew was being evacuated and there were no casualties.

Kharg Island is a strategically significant hub for Iran's crude shipments. The incident follows recent intensification of fighting in the Strait of Hormuz, where the US resumed strikes on Iranian targets after a month-long halt. Meanwhile, Yemen's Houthi rebels reported that air strikes by government forces in Hodeida and Taiz killed at least three people.

In Lebanon, Israeli strikes killed three people and wounded nearly two dozen, retaliating for a drone launched by the Hezbollah group. The conflict between Israel and Hezbollah began in response to the latter's rocket attacks into Israel following the US-led war on Iran.