The United States said it destroyed three Iranian oil tankers on Saturday in response to attempted missile attacks on naval vessels, with Iran's Revolutionary Guards saying they targeted US-linked ships in response. The latest round of clashes, which began with US raids last week, comes amid a deadlock in the six-month war.

Iran has maintained its stranglehold on the strategic Strait of Hormuz as Washington continues pressing its counter-blockade of Iranian ports. In addition to the renewed military action, Washington is also seeking to choke Iran's economy, announcing sanctions on entities with financial links to the Islamic republic in a bid to force it into submission.

US Central Command (Centcom) said early on Saturday it had targeted tankers linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), accusing the most powerful arm of the Iranian military of unsuccessfully firing at American warships. "Following Iran's failed attacks, Centom permanently disabled the IRGC crude oil carriers M/T Downy off the coast of Kharg Island and M/T Stark 1 near Jask," it said.

"American forces also completely destroyed the unladen crude oil carrier M/T Kylo... in the Gulf of Oman, striking the vessel in multiple critical locations to render it inoperable after the crew was directed to abandon ship." Video posted by Centcom showed large fireballs and billowing flames after projectiles slammed into the ships.

The three vessels were "part of a multibillion-dollar shadow network that funds the IRGC and its regional proxies," it said. After the strikes, Centcom commander Admiral Brad Cooper said: "If you shoot at two of our ships, we will impose an even higher economic cost — taking out three of yours.

" In a statement published by state news agency IRNA, the Guards said their air force "attacked an aircraft carrier and a destroyer with several ballistic missiles." The Guards said those two American warships were "forced to retreat" after "suffering damage.

" Centcom said those ships successfully evaded Iranian attacks. Following the US strikes, the IRGC said their 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.

" It warned other ships not to attempt to transit by unapproved routes. Centcom did not immediately respond to AFP's questions about the IRGC claims. There were no immediate reports from the UKMTO shipping agency of civilian tankers being targeted in the strait.

The Iranian foreign ministry earlier hit out at Washington over the strikes on the oil tankers, calling them "illegal and aggressive actions." A correspondent for Iranian state TV in Jask in the southern province of Hormozgan said one of the tankers was empty and the second was carrying oil.

The crews were transported to shore on lifeboats, they said. Another state TV correspondent on Kharg Island said the attack there caused no casualties. Iran's Khatam-al Anbiya central military command warned that if the US continued its attacks, then Tehran's retaliation against US warships would be "more severe than before, and there is a possibility of their expansion.

" The Trump administration has tried to downplay the significance of the six-month conflict, which has proven increasingly unpopular at home as midterm elections near. US Vice President JD Vance went so far as to say that he "wouldn't call it a war." US President Donald Trump backed his comments on Friday, calling the Iran war "small potatoes" for Washington.

Iran's Security Chief Mohsen Rezaei warned this week that the Islamic Republic had adopted a "new strategy" against Washington in the war that "will shatter your foundations." The US has been trying to step up pressure on Tehran over its blockade of the Hormuz Strait, through which one-fifth of world oil supplies previously flowed.

A fragile ceasefire collapsed in July after attacks on commercial ships in the strategic waterway. Trump has in recent weeks repeatedly threatened to claim sovereignty over the strait, even posting a map showing it as a "new US territory." Vance has also insisted the US would not reopen talks with Iran until it ends attacks on commercial shipping in the Hormuz.

But with fuel prices threatening to cost the Republicans their control of Congress at the ballot box, Trump's administration has begun pushing the message that oil flows through the waterway are returning to prewar levels. "Their control over the Strait of Hormuz is effectively gone," Vance said of Iran on Thursday.

Before the latest hostilities erupted, the United States had appeared to be pivoting to economic warfare rather than military operations. On Friday, the US Treasury announced sanctions on a Turkish bank over its alleged ties to the IRGC, after last week taking a step towards cutting off a major Egyptian bank's UAE operations from the US financial system.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has laid out plans for the "economic asphyxiation" of Iran, warning of dire consequences for countries that do not join the American pressure campaign.

WASHINGTON, Sept 6 — The United States said it destroyed three Iranian oil tankers yesterday in response to attempted missile attacks on naval vessels, with Iran’s Revolutionary Guards saying they targeted US-linked ships in response. The latest round of clashes, which began with US raids last week, comes amid a deadlock in the six-month war.

Iran has maintained its stranglehold on the strategic Strait of Hormuz as Washington continues pressing its counter-blockade of Iranian ports. In addition to the renewed military action, Washington is also seeking to choke Iran’s economy, announcing sanctions on entities with financial links to the Islamic republic in a bid to force it into submission.

US Central Command (Centcom) said early yesterday it targeted tankers linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), accusing the most powerful arm of the Iranian military of unsuccessfully firing at American warships. “Following Iran’s failed attacks, Centcom permanently disabled the IRGC crude oil carriers M/T Downy off the coast of Kharg Island and M/T Stark 1 near Jask,” it said.

“American forces also completely destroyed the unladen crude oil carrier M/T Kylo... in the Gulf of Oman, striking the vessel in multiple critical locations to render it inoperable after the crew was directed to abandon ship.” Video posted by Centcom showed large fireballs and billowing flames after projectiles slammed into the ships.

The three vessels were “part of a multibillion-dollar shadow network that funds the IRGC and its regional proxies,” it said. After the strikes, CEN Centcom TCOM commander Admiral Brad Cooper said: “If you shoot at two of our ships, we will impose an even higher economic cost -- taking out three of yours.

” Lifeboats But Iran appeared undeterred, with the IRGC announcing later yesterday that their naval forces had subsequently “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.

” It warned other ships not to attempt to transit by unapproved routes. Centcom did not immediately respond to AFP’s questions about the IRGC claims. There were no immediate reports from the UKMTO shipping agency of civilian tankers being targeted in the strait.

The Iranian foreign ministry earlier hit out at Washington over the strikes on the oil tankers, calling them “illegal and aggressive actions.” A correspondent for Iranian state TV in Jask in the southern province of Hormozgan said one of the tankers was empty and the second was carrying oil.

The crews were transported to shore on lifeboats, they said. Another state TV correspondent on Kharg Island said the attack there caused no casualties. Iran’s Khatam-al Anbiya central military command warned that if the US continued its attacks, then Tehran’s retaliation against US warships would be “more severe than before, and there is a possibility of their expansion.

” ‘Small potatoes’ The Trump administration has been seeking to play down the significance of the six-month conflict, which has proven increasingly unpopular at home as midterm elections near. US Vice President JD Vance went so far as to say that he “wouldn’t call it a war.

” US President Donald Trump backed his comments on Friday, calling the Iran war “small potatoes” for Washington. Iran’s Security Chief Mohsen Rezaei warned this week that the Islamic republic had adopted a “new strategy” against Washington in the war that “will shatter your foundations.

” The US has been trying to step up pressure on Tehran over its blockade of the Hormuz Strait, through which one-fifth of world oil supplies previously flowed. A fragile ceasefire collapsed in July after attacks on commercial ships in the strategic waterway.

Trump has in recent weeks repeatedly threatened to claim sovereignty over the strait, even posting a map showing it as a “new US territory.” Vance has also insisted the US would not reopen talks with Iran until it ends attacks on commercial shipping in the Hormuz.

But with fuel prices threatening to cost Trump’s Republicans their control of Congress at the ballot box, his administration has begun pushing the message that oil flows through the waterway are returning to prewar levels. “Their control over the Strait of Hormuz is effectively gone,” Vance said of Iran on Thursday.

Before the latest hostilities erupted, the United States had appeared to be pivoting to economic warfare rather than military operations. On Friday, the US Treasury announced sanctions on a Turkish bank over its alleged ties to the IRGC, after last week taking a step towards cutting off a major Egyptian bank’s UAE operations from the US financial system.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has laid out plans for the “economic asphyxiation” of Iran, warning of dire consequences for countries that do not join the American pressure campaign.

Live updatesLive updates, Iran war live: IRGC claims new attacks on US warships over naval blockade IRGC says it fired ballistic missiles at a US aircraft carrier and a Navy destroyer as standoff intensifies in the Strait of Hormuz. Published On 6 Sep 2026 - Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) says it launched “several ballistic missiles at a US aircraft carrier and a US Navy destroyer”, accusing the vessels of harassing Iranian ships and enforcing a naval blockade.

- The claim came after the US military said it struck and destroyed three Iranian crude oil tankers in retaliation for earlier attacks on US warships.

President Donald Trump has downplayed his war on Iran as “small potatoes,” but those potatoes are getting bigger as both sides are escalating beyond their stalemate in the Strait of Hormuz. For months, Iran’s military has failed to completely close off the narrow waterway, as U.

S. forces shepherd more oil tankers through, eroding Tehran’s geopolitical leverage. Similarly, the U.S. military has failed to completely reopen the strait, as Iranian attacks on commercial vessels prevent a return to prewar traffic flows, keeping oil prices high.

But with the U.S. naval blockade also strangling Iran’s economy, Tehran was widely expected to try changing the equation with a fresh cycle of attacks—and it did. Iran launched missiles at U.S. bases around the Persian Gulf earlier this week, then on Saturday it launched missiles at a Navy aircraft carrier and destroyer.

That prompted the U.S. military to strike three Iranian oil tankers that were deemed to be operating in the “shadow network” that funnels money to the regime’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. “Let the message to the IRGC be clear: If you shoot at two of our ships, we will impose an even higher economic cost — taking out three of yours,” U.

S. Central Command chief Adm. Brad Cooper said in a statement. “We will not hesitate to defend American forces, and if necessary, destroy Iran’s limited and exposed oil fleet.” For Hamidreza Azizi, senior Iran analyst at the International Crisis Group, the fighting appears to represent a new phase of escalation.

Until now, Iran’s military had focused on tankers and commercial shipping around the Strait of Hormuz, he pointed out in a post on X. Meanwhile, its direct attacks on U.S. forces had been limited to bases around the Gulf. “Attempting to strike U.S. warships enforcing the blockade therefore crosses a different threshold,” Azizi added.

“The attempt failed, but there is no reason to assume the next one will. A successful strike — especially one causing significant U.S. casualties — could rapidly transform the conflict.” Iran’s attack on U.S. warships also follows a report in the Financial Times this week that said Russia is secretly helping Iran develop supersonic cruise missiles.

A ramjet propulsion system, which would enable a missile to travel at several times the speed of sound, would likely power anti-ship and land-attack cruise missiles. Such a weapon would force U.S. Navy ships and aircraft to move much farther away from Iran, breaking the chokehold on its economy.

For now, the naval blockade has proved to be a potent economic weapon, and Iranian officials have admitted that conditions are dire and suggested time is running out. The Treasury Department has also vowed to inflict an “economic D-Day” on Iran with wider sanctions aimed at countries that facilitate its illicit oil trade and other financial transactions.

But Azizi warned that adding economic pressure will not necessarily make Iran more cautious, especially if Tehran sees it as unsustainable. That means the U.S. attacks on Iranian oil tankers will likely spark even more escalation. “The greater the squeeze on Iran, the greater the incentive to act,” he wrote.

“And the more Tehran comes to see that pressure as existential, the more likely it is to conclude that it has less to lose — and that increasingly risky actions are worth attempting.