Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Say They Attacked U.S. Drone in Strait of Hormuz After Tanker Strikes

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they attacked an unmanned U.S. military surface vessel in the Strait of Hormuz, adding another dangerous turn to the confrontation between Tehran and Washington.

The Guards said the vessel had been trying to enter a protected area of the strait. Iran’s official IRNA news agency and state television reported the claim in a military statement, hours after the two countries exchanged attacks.

The U.S. armed forces said on Saturday that they had attacked three Iranian oil tankers after U.S. Navy warships came under ballistic-missile fire. They warned that, “if necessary, they will destroy Iran’s limited and exposed oil fleet.” The U.S. statement said the tankers belonged to an underground network that helps finance Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guards and its armed allies in the region.

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If necessary, they will destroy Iran’s limited and exposed oil fleet.

The U.S. military also said an aircraft carrier and a destroyer evaded “multiple unprovoked Iranian attacks” while patrolling the region, and that no U.S. personnel were wounded. It said two Iranian tankers were “permanently disabled” and a third, which was empty, was destroyed. The timing of the Iranian missile launches remained unclear.

Iranian state television said on Saturday night that Iran had attacked three oil tankers and three U.S. vessels in retaliation, but the report could not immediately be confirmed. A spokesman for Iran’s joint military command warned that attacks on U.S. military ships would become more severe if American forces continued interfering with Iranian shipping. Experts described the episode as a dangerous escalation after earlier Iranian attacks targeted commercial shipping.

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Multiple unprovoked Iranian attacks