Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said Saturday it had fired ballistic missiles at a U.S. aircraft carrier and a Navy destroyer operating in the Gulf, retaliation it said came in response to earlier American strikes that disabled or destroyed three Iranian oil tankers.
According to a statement carried by Iranian state media, the Guard’s aerospace division targeted the vessels for what it called interference with Iranian shipping and participation in a naval blockade, claiming both ships sustained damage and withdrew from the area. It also said Iranian naval forces struck three tankers passing through what it described as an unauthorized route in the Strait of Hormuz, along with three other vessels it identified as U.S.-linked, and warned ships in the strait to avoid similar routes or risk being targeted.
U.S. Central Command, which had not commented on the Iranian claims as of Saturday, said earlier that its aircraft carrier and destroyer evaded the Iranian missiles without damage and that no personnel were harmed. Central Command chief Adm. Brad Cooper said the earlier American strikes on the tankers were a direct response to Iran’s missile launches, warning that any Iranian attack on U.S. ships would draw an even costlier reply against Iran’s fleet. The Guard, in turn, warned that continued American action would bring a significant response, saying its forces were “stronger than ever.”
None of the competing claims from either side could be independently verified. The exchange is the latest turn in a rapid escalation that began September 1, when U.S. forces started striking Iranian tankers under what officials have described as a “tanker for tanker” retaliation policy, deepening a conflict that has run since Washington and Israel first struck Iran on February 28.
