U.S. strikes 3 Iranian oil tankers after Iran targets Navy warships, military says

U.S. forces struck three Iranian oil tankers Saturday after Iran launched ballistic missiles toward two U.S. Navy shifts, the U.S. military said.

A U.S. aircraft carrier and guided missile destroyer evaded multiple attacks by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, U.S. Central Command said in a statement. No American personnel were harmed.

CENTCOM said U.S. forces retaliated by permanently disabling two crude oil carriers, the M/T Downy off the coast of Kharg Island and the M/T Stark 1 near Jask. Forces also destroyed a third vessel, the M/T Kylo near the Gulf of Oman.

The Kylo was not carrying oil at the time and its crew was directed to abandon the vessel before American forces struck it in multiple locations, CENTCOM said.

“If you shoot at two of our ships, we will impose an even higher economic cost — taking out three of yours,” Adm. Brad Cooper, the commander of CENTCOM, said in a statement. “We will not hesitate to defend American forces, and if necessary, destroy Iran’s limited and exposed oil fleet.”

Kharg Island, a tiny but strategic island 15 miles off the coast of Iran in the Persian Gulf, plays a central role in the country’s oil industry. There…

Original source: https://www.nbcnews.com/business