US Destroys Five Iranian Oil Tankers in Escalating Conflict

The US military has destroyed five Iranian oil tankers in response to attempted missile attacks on American warships. The strike comes just three days after US forces destroyed three Iranian oil tankers, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio saying the US will not allow Iran's attacks to go unanswered.

The U.S. Central Command said that the crews of the five vessels were told to abandon ship before the attacks, and no American personnel were harmed in the attempted strikes. The destroyed tankers include the Kivik, Charminar, Horizon 1, Riesco, and Derya.

The latest tit-for-tat strikes come as Washington and Tehran lurch back toward fighting during more than six months of war. Danny Citrinowicz, an Iran expert at Israel's Institute for National Security Studies, warned that such back-and-forth strikes can only risk more retaliation and further impact to the global economy.