Iran claims attack on two US Navy vessels with ballistic missiles
Tehran: Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said on Sunday that its aerospace forces had attacked a US aircraft carrier and a destroyer with several ballistic missiles, alleging that the vessels had harassed Iranian ships and participated in a naval blockade against the country.
The IRGC said the two US military vessels fled the conflict zone after sustaining damage. It warned that if what it described as “hostile and aggressive” actions continued, the US government should expect “formidable” responses from the Iranian armed forces.
On Saturday night, the IRGC Navy said it had also targeted three oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz and three US-affiliated vessels elsewhere in retaliation for US attacks on Iranian tankers earlier in the day, Xinhua News Agency reported.
The three tankers targeted in the Strait of Hormuz were crossing the waterway via an “unauthorised” route, the IRGC Navy said in a statement. It added that the other three vessels were struck in other areas.
US Central Command, in a statement posted on social media platform X on Saturday, said US forces had struck three Iranian crude oil carriers after the IRGC “launched ballistic missiles toward two US Navy warships patrolling regional waters”.
“A US aircraft carrier and guided-missile destroyer successfully evaded multiple unprovoked Iranian attacks. No American personnel were harmed,” it said.
In a statement published early Sunday by its official news outlet Sepah News, the IRGC said its aerospace forces had fired several ballistic missiles at a US aircraft carrier and a destroyer in the preceding hours. It alleged that the vessels had harassed Iranian ships and participated in a naval blockade against Iran.
The IRGC also said its naval forces had attacked a US Army unmanned surface vessel that attempted to enter a protected area of the Strait of Hormuz.
With IANS inputs