US forces destroyed five Iranian oil carriers on Tuesday after
Iran allegedly made two attempts to strike an American warship with ballistic missiles in recent days, according to the US military.
The latest operation was the second time in less than a week that Washington targeted Iranian oil tankers following attacks on US military vessels. The strikes have further increased tensions between the two countries. Iran has warned that it could respond by targeting oil tankers operating near Gulf states that are allied with the United States.
US Says Tankers Were Evacuated Before Strikes
US Central Command, known as Centcom, said American forces targeted the five tankers after ordering their crews to abandon the vessels. "American forces directed the crews to abandon ship before the vessels were struck and rendered inoperable," Centcom said, describing the operation as being "in response to Iran's most recent failed attacks."
Centcom said the strikes came after two attempts by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to attack a US Navy warship with ballistic missiles over a two-day period. According to the command, the American warship successfully avoided both attacks and continued its patrol in regional waters.
The warship "successfully evaded the attempted Iranian attacks and continued to patrol regional waters," Centcom said. Centcom also stressed that the Iranian attacks had failed to damage the targeted US naval vessels. "All IRGC attempts against US Navy warships have failed," it added.
US Had Earlier Destroyed Three Iranian Tankers
The latest strikes came only days after another US operation against Iranian oil carriers. On Saturday, American forces destroyed three Iranian crude carriers, Centcom said. The operation followed an alleged Iranian attempt to attack a US aircraft carrier and a guided missile destroyer.
The repeated attacks on Iranian oil vessels have raised the stakes in the confrontation. Washington has linked the tanker strikes directly to Iran's attempts to target US military assets.
Iran Threatens Gulf Oil Tankers
Iran has warned that it could retaliate if the United States continues attacking Iranian oil carriers. Iranian Armed Forces chief of staff Ali Abdollahi said earlier on Tuesday that Tehran would target US military bases in the region if Iranian tankers came under attack.
However, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington would continue targeting Iranian tankers in response to attacks on American forces.
"Iran continues to try to hit US naval ships, and for every time they do that or try to do that, they're going to lose tankers," Rubio told reporters during a visit to Colombia. Iran later expanded its warning to tankers operating from Kuwait and Bahrain. Both countries are US allies in the Gulf.
The IRGC warned oil carriers at ports in the two countries to leave their vessels. "We warn all oil tankers in the Kuwaiti and Bahraini ports... whether they are anchored or docked -- we warn them to leave their vessels because they will be targeted," the IRGC said in a statement posted eon the IRNA state news agency. The warning adds another potential threat to commercial shipping in the Gulf region.
Tensions Spread to Strait of Hormuz
The confrontation has also reached the strategically important Strait of Hormuz. Iran earlier claimed that it had captured an American unmanned underwater vehicle near the waterway. The claim added another dimension to the growing confrontation between Washington and Tehran.
Centcom confirmed on Tuesday that one of its underwater drones had malfunctioned more than a day earlier while operating in regional waters.
"An underwater drone operated by US forces malfunctioned more than a day ago. It was surveying regional waters in support of ongoing operations," Centcom spokesperson Captain Tim Hawkins said. However, Hawkins did not confirm whether Iranian forces had captured the drone.
US Says Drone Was an Older Model
The US military also played down the significance of the underwater vehicle. "The defective drone was an older model that neither collected sensitive data nor carried any classified sonar or radar equipment," Hawkins added.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards had given a different account. The IRGC said its forces had seized the American underwater drone at the "entrance to the Strait of Hormuz in a complex intelligence and operational action". Iranian forces described the device as "one of the most modern, unmanned, and smart submarines" operated by the US military.
The conflicting descriptions highlight the wider information battle between the two sides as military tensions continue to rise in and around the Gulf. Meanwhile, the threats against oil tankers and attacks involving naval forces have increased concerns about the safety of commercial shipping through one of the world's most important energy routes.
