US and Iran trade strikes as tensions escalate amid renewed conflict - US Central Command has struck three Iranian oil tankers, including one near the Kharg Island export hub, after Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps fired ballistic missiles at two US Navy vessels.

- Admiral Brad Cooper declared that the US would exact a higher economic cost for attacks on its ships, confirming that no American personnel were harmed during the strike. - Iran's Revolutionary Guard retaliated by threatening further attacks on US military ships, claiming to have targeted three US-linked vessels and three tankers navigating unauthorised routes in the Strait of Hormuz.

- The Iranian Red Crescent has requested an International Criminal Court investigation into a suspected US strike on an Iranian wedding that left at least five people dead, accusing Washington of war crimes. - The recent exchanges represent a dangerous deepening of the wider conflict between the US, Israel, and Iran, which has flared repeatedly since initial strikes in February.

Iran attacks naval drone near Hormuz after US strikes 3 oil tankers The latest round of clashes, which began with US raids last week, comes amid a deadlock in the six-month war Iran said on Sunday that its forces attacked a US naval drone trying to enter the Strait of Hormuz, hours after targeting ships in retaliation for American strikes on three oil tankers.

The latest round of clashes, which began with US raids last week, comes amid a deadlock in their six-month war. Iran has maintained its stranglehold on the strategic Strait of Hormuz while Washington continues a counter-blockade of Iranian ports. Washington is also seeking to choke Iran’s economy, rolling out sanctions on entities with financial links to the Islamic Republic in a bid to force it into submission.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the ideological arm of Iran’s military, said on Sunday it “attacked an American military unmanned surface vessel” attempting to enter the strait, according to a statement carried by state television. Hours earlier, the IRGC said its naval forces “targeted three oil tankers on the unauthorised route of the Strait of Hormuz and three vessels affiliated with the child-killing America in other areas”.

The Pentagon reportedly subjected approximately 50 military officers and civilian employees on the US Joint Staff to polygraph tests in August as part of an internal investigation into suspected leaks of classified information to journalists during the war with Iran.

The investigation reportedly focused on media disclosures concerning the state of US ammunition and weapons stocks, particularly reports that the conflict had depleted supplies of long-range missiles and Patriot air-defence interceptors. Investigators sought to determine whether Joint Staff personnel had provided classified information to members of the media and identify the sources of the disclosures, as per media reports.

ALSO READ: US, Iran Locked In Fresh Counter Strikes After Vessel Attacks Off Hormuz And Kharg Island The Joint Staff, which includes roughly 1,500 to 2,000 personnel, assists senior military leadership with operations, policy and war planning. The reported testing involved both uniformed officers and civilian employees, while senior leadership, including Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen.

Dan Caine, was reportedly not subjected to the tests. The unusually broad use of polygraph examinations has drawn attention from former military officials, with retired Rear Adm. Donald J. Guter describing the reported scale and seniority of the testing as unprecedented in his experience.

“I've never seen polygraphs employed this broadly or at this seniority level,” said Guter. Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell declined to comment specifically on the investigation but said the Defense Department takes unauthorized disclosures of classified national-security information extremely seriously.

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has not held a press briefing on the Iran war since May 5 and has increasingly restricted media access at the Pentagon. ALSO READ: CENTCOM Hits Three Iranian Oil Carriers After Attack On US Warships The reported crackdown comes amid heightened tensions between the Pentagon and the media, as well as pressure from President Donald Trump, who has rejected reports of serious U.

S. ammunition shortages and criticized disclosures about weapons availability during the Iran conflict. Essential Business Intelligence, Sharp Market Insights, Practical Personal Finance Advice, Daily Fuel, Gold and Silver Prices and Latest Stories — On NDTV Profit.

The Israeli military said it was carrying out strikes in southern Lebanon after Hezbollah launched drones at its soldiers, and urged residents of the town of Arab Salim to evacuate. "Terrorists from the Hezbollah terrorist organisation launched two drones towards IDF soldiers operating in the Security Zone in southern Lebanon," the military said in a statement, adding that there were no reports of Israeli soldiers wounded.

"This constitutes a blatant violation by the Hezbollah terrorist organisation. In response, the IDF is now striking in southern Lebanon," it added. In another message, the Israeli military warned residents of Arab Salim to leave ahead of imminent attacks.

"You are situated near a facility belonging to the terrorist organisation Hezbollah, against which the IDF will be operating," it wrote in Arabic on Telegram. Lebanon was drawn into the Middle East war in March after Iran-backed Hezbollah attacked Israel, which responded with airstrikes and a ground invasion that Lebanon says have killed more than 4,300 people.

Violence has lessened since a US-Iran memorandum of understanding on the broader conflict in June and a framework agreement between Israel and Lebanon later that month. Israeli forces are operating inside a self-declared "security zone" around 10km deep inside Lebanon along the border.

Authorities in Lebanon said that Israeli strikes killed four people in the country's south and east yesterday.