US Destroys Five Iranian Tankers in Escalation of Maritime Campaign
The US has escalated its campaign against Iran's maritime activities by destroying five Iranian tankers in response to attempted ballistic missile attacks on a US Navy warship. The strikes were carried out by US Central Command (CENTCOM) after Iran launched a missile barrage towards regional US ally Jordan.
No American personnel were harmed in the attempted attacks, which drew threats of retaliation from Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The IRGC warned oil tanker crews near Bahraini and Kuwaiti ports to immediately leave their vessels as they would be targeted.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that for every time Iran targets US naval ships, they will lose tankers. The latest strikes come after US forces hit three Iranian crude oil carriers at the weekend in response to an IRGC attempt to attack a US aircraft carrier and guided-missile destroyer.