US forces destroyed five Iranian oil carriers after Tehran launched ballistic missiles at an American warship twice in recent days, the US military said, AFP reports.
The strikes are the second time that Washington’s forces have targeted Iranian tankers in less than a week in response to attacks on US military vessels, and Tehran vowed to hit back by targeting oil carriers near US-allied Gulf states.
“American forces directed the crews to abandon ship before the vessels were struck and rendered inoperable,” US Central Command (Centcom) said in a statement on the strikes, which were “in response to Iran’s most recent failed attacks”.
The destruction of the tankers came after “the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps targeted a US Navy warship with ballistic missiles twice over the past two days,” it said.
