Commodities
US Strikes Iranian Oil Tankers in Escalation of Gulf Conflict
The US military has struck three Iranian oil tankers in response to ballistic missile attacks on American warships, according to the Pentagon. The attacks were carried out a day after President Donald Trump downplayed the conflict as 'small potatoes.'
No US personnel were injured in the attack, but two of the tankers were permanently disabled and one was destroyed. The tankers were part of a shadow network helping to fund Iran's Revolutionary Guard and its armed proxies in the region.
The latest escalation comes after six months of on-again, off-again war that began with US and Israeli attacks on Iran on February 28. Both sides have sought to inflict military and economic pain, but negotiations have collapsed.