In the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, the United States announced on Tuesday that it attacked five Iranian oil tankers, resulting in the sinking of one vessel, according to the US Central Command. These strikes were framed as a response to two attacks Tehran conducted on a US warship. Four of the targeted tankers were located in the Gulf of Oman and were linked to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, while the fifth was attacked near the Iranian island of Kharg.
Iran’s response to earlier actions included missile attacks on a US base in Jordan, although most of these were successfully intercepted. Furthermore, Iran claimed responsibility for attacking two US ships and eight oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz. Tensions between the two nations escalated again last week, more than six months after US and Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28.
Jordan subsequently reported shooting down 18 of the 20 Iranian missiles, noting that the remaining two landed in uninhabited areas. Meanwhile, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard issued warnings regarding further retaliatory strikes.
