A swimmer stays close to shore as a boat passes commercial ships anchored in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas, Iran, on Friday. Vahid Salemi/AP hide caption toggle caption Vahid Salemi/AP CAIRO – The U.S. 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 President Donald Trump tried 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 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. Earlier, Iranian state television had said four U.S. missiles hit an oil tanker about six miles (10 kilometers) off 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 facilities there in March. The United States said one oil tanker was hit 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. The attacks came almost a week after the United States and Iran resumed attacks after a month of relative calm, with the strait and Iranian communities along it again coming under attack. At least five people were killed earlier this week during a US bombing raid in southern Iran. A blow hit a wedding. The resumption of fighting came after renewed efforts by the United States to apply economic pressure on Tehran, whose new hardline leaders have signaled their willingness to resist after enduring decades of sanctions. 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 United States 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.
