Listen to this articleDear 5 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated using AI-based technology. Pronunciation errors may occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve results. The US military said Saturday it attacked three Iranian oil tankers after Navy warships were attacked with missiles, warning that “if necessary, it would destroy Iran’s limited and exposed oil fleet.” The attacks, a day after U.S. President Donald Trump sought to downplay the conflict as “small potatoes,” maintain a new tilt toward fighting after six months of on-again, off-again war that began with the U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran on Feb. 28. Both sides have tried to inflict both military and economic pain, and negotiations have collapsed. The military statement said a U.S. aircraft carrier and a destroyer evaded “multiple unprovoked Iranian attacks” while patrolling in the region and that no U.S. personnel were injured. He said two Iranian tankers were “permanently disabled” and the third, without cargo, was destroyed. The US statement said the tankers were part of a shadowy network that helped finance Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guard and its armed proxies in the region. A spokesman for Iran’s joint military command later warned that attacks on US military vessels would be more severe if the US continues to interfere with Iranian shipping, the state broadcaster reported. Earlier, Iranian state television had said four US missiles hit an oil tanker about 10 kilometers from Kharg Island, home to a terminal through which the country exports most of its oil. Kharg Island was repeatedly attacked during the war, including US attacks on military sites there in March. The United States said one oil tanker was attacked off Kharg Island and another near Jask, east of the Strait of Hormuz. The empty tanker was hit in the Gulf of Oman. The statement shared what it called video footage of the attacks. “We will not hesitate to defend American forces and, if necessary, destroy Iran’s limited and exposed oil fleet,” said the head of US Central Command, Admiral Brad Cooper. After the US statement, Iran’s state broadcaster reported that the other two tankers had been attacked, saying their crews had been evacuated. At least five people were killed earlier this week during a US bombing raid in southern Iran. A blow hit a wedding. Masoumeh Zarei, 13, was injured in the attack. He spoke to The Associated Press at a hospital while receiving treatment for abdominal injuries. He said that the wedding celebration had already begun when he prepared to join it. She never got there. He was knocked unconscious when a telecommunications tower was hit. His next memory was waking up in a hospital. “The party had just started and we wanted to go there,” Zarei said hoarsely. “I had my nails done very pretty for the party, but everything changed.” SEE | US attacks hit Iran wedding: Iran attacks US bases after accusing the US of a deadly attack on a wedding. Iran attacked several US bases across the Persian Gulf on Wednesday after accusing the United States of launching an attack that killed four people at a wedding in southern Iran. US Central Command told CBC News it is investigating the allegations. Her friend, Kiana Karimi, 14, was also injured and is in intensive care. He told the AP he heard five explosions. “The first three explosions at the telecom tower knocked us to the ground,” Karimi said. “I quickly got up to pick my brothers off the ground. Then there were two more explosions, and after that I don’t remember anything.” The United States had tried to increase economic pressure. The resumption of fighting came after renewed efforts by the United States to apply economic pressure on Tehran, whose new hardline leaders have signaled a willingness to intervene after enduring decades of sanctions. However, the elected government of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has said it favors a negotiated end to the conflict. Over the years, Iran has found ways to circumvent sanctions (and now the US blockade of its ports) and get its oil to buyers to help ease growing economic pressures. That depends in part on a shadow fleet that transports their oil.WATCH | The US had threatened to increase economic pressure on Iran: the US threatens to block all income to Iran. The US has halted military strikes against Iran, but instead threatens to “tighten the noose” and block all sources of revenue for Iran’s government, a move that some say all but guarantees retaliation against Americans. Meanwhile, the issue that helped lead to the war – Iran’s nuclear program – was due to be addressed in negotiations that collapsed shortly after the US and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding in mid-June. Instead, Tehran’s new influence is focused on the strait that is crucial to global shipments of oil and natural gas and was seen as an international waterway before the war began. The U.S. military has been helping guide ships through the strait as Tehran asserts control and attacks some vessels, but overall traffic remains low.
