US and Iran Engage in Tit-for-Tat Aerial Battles Over Tanker Targets

US and Iranian forces have clashed in the Gulf of Oman, as Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps targeted a US warship. The incident comes after the US destroyed five Iranian oil tankers in the region.

The US Central Command (Centcom) said that no US personnel were harmed in the Tuesday attacks, but the exchange has escalated tensions between the two nations. The Strait of Hormuz remains closed by Tehran while Washington enforces a naval blockade on Iranian ports.

According to Centcom, the US forces disabled four Iranian oil tankers - M/T Kaviz, M/T Charminar, M/T Horizon 1 and M/T Riesco - in the Gulf of Oman, along with one tanker near Kharg Island. The crews were directed to abandon the ships before they were fired at.

The US retaliated after accusing Tehran of launching ballistic missiles at a US warship twice in two days. Iran's chief of staff, Ali Abdollahi, warned that any attack on Iranian oil tankers would result in the targeting of US bases in the region.