US Central Command said Iran’s Revolutionary Guard fired ballistic missiles at two American warships before US forces disabled two Iranian crude carriers and destroyed a third. The command reported no harm to its personnel but gave no information about deaths or injuries aboard the tankers. The strikes came one day after Donald Trump played down the Iran campaign, in which 18 US service members have died.
US Central Command said Iran’s Revolutionary Guard fired ballistic missiles at an aircraft carrier and a guided-missile destroyer patrolling regional waters. According to the command, US forces then disabled two Iranian crude oil tankers and destroyed a third. The strikes took place in the Gulf of Oman and near Kharg Island. No US personnel were harmed, but the command did not say whether anyone aboard the tankers was killed or injured.[1]
The command described the tankers as part of a multibillion-dollar network financing the Revolutionary Guard and forces it called Iran’s regional proxies. Central Command chief Admiral Brad Cooper said the US would defend American forces and, if necessary, destroy Iran’s limited and exposed oil fleet. The statement makes clear that commercial vessels carrying oil were selected as direct military targets, while leaving the condition of people aboard and the nature of the cargoes undisclosed.[1]
Donald Trump described the Iran campaign as a minor matter. Trump and Vice President JD Vance said they did not call the months of intermittent attacks a war. Al Jazeera and AP News reported that Trump said US strikes were now intermittent. Trump said the United States had lost 18 people in the campaign, while AP News also reported his claim that the conflict had weakened Iran’s nuclear programme.[2], [3]
