U.S. strikes 3 Iranian oil tankers, vows to ‘destroy’ entire fleet ‘if necessary’

The U.S. military said Saturday that it struck three Iranian oil tankers in retaliation for strikes on two Navy warships. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on social media following the strikes, “It’s simple: if Iran shoots at U.S. ships, we will destroy (and sink) their oil tankers. All they have to do is stop shooting at @USNavy.” The military said in a statement earlier that the strikes were aimed at Iran’s powerful 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,” Admiral Brad Cooper, who leads U.S. Central Command, said in a statement posted by CENTCOM on X. “We will not hesitate to defend American forces, and if necessary, destroy Iran’s limited and exposed oil fleet.” The statement said U.S. forces “permanently disabled” two Iranian crude oil carriers and "completely destroyed” another in the Gulf of Oman. These tankers were “part of a multibillion-dollar shadow network” funding Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, CENTCOM said. The latest strikes are part of a new wave of fighting that began a week ago after a period of relative peace. One of the three oil tankers was struck off the coast of Kharg Island. Trump has toyed with the idea of taking control of strategic oil hub and seizing other oil infrastructure points in Iran. No U.S. personnel were injured in Saturday’s strikes, according to CENTCOM. President Donald Trump, who jointly launched the war against Iran with Israel on Feb. 28, downplayed the war on Friday, calling it “small potaoes” and saying, “It’s not a big thing,” Vice President JD Vance said on Wednesday, “I wouldn’t call it a war.”