US forces on Saturday struck three Iranian oil tankers after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) fired ballistic missiles at two US warships, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said, quoted by "Reuters".
A US aircraft carrier and a guided-missile destroyer have evaded several Iranian attacks in the region. No U.S. service members were injured, the command said.
In response, U.S. forces attacked three tankers that CENTCOM said were part of a multibillion-dollar oil trading network used to finance the IRGC and Tehran-linked militias in the region.
The tanker M/T Downy was hit near Kharg Island, Iran's main oil export terminal in the Persian Gulf. The U.S. command said the ship was permanently disabled.
A second tanker, the M/T Stark 1, was attacked near Jask on Iran's Gulf of Oman coast and was also permanently disabled.
U.S. forces also destroyed the empty tanker M/T Kylo, also known as Noxen, in the Gulf of Oman. Before the attack, its crew was ordered to abandon ship, after which it was hit in several critical areas to render it unusable, CENTCOM said.
CENTCOM commander Admiral Brad Cooper warned that the United States was prepared to continue strikes against Iran's oil fleet if attacks on American forces continued.
"If you fire on two of our ships, we will impose an even greater economic cost on you - by disabling three of yours," Cooper said. He added that American forces would not hesitate to defend themselves and, if necessary, destroy the vulnerable Iranian oil fleet.
Iran earlier reported a US attack on its oil tanker near Kharg Island. Washington initially did not confirm the information, but a subsequent statement from CENTCOM named a tanker in the area among the three ships hit.
The new exchange of strikes comes less than a week after the resumption of US and Iranian attacks after about a month of relative calm. The conflict began with US-Israeli strikes against Iran on February 28, and diplomatic efforts to end it have so far failed to produce an agreement.
Tensions remain particularly high around the Strait of Hormuz, through which a significant part of the world's maritime oil trade passes. In recent months, US forces have been conducting operations to ensure the passage of commercial ships through the strategic waterway, while Iran has been carrying out attacks on vessels in the area.