**U.S. Hits Iranian Tankers After Missile Attacks on Navy Ships**
The United States struck three Iranian oil tankers Saturday after Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps fired ballistic missiles at two U.S. Navy vessels, U.S. Central Command said.
One tanker was hit off Kharg Island, Iran’s main oil export hub. CENTCOM said an aircraft carrier and guided-missile destroyers evaded the attacks and that no American service members were injured.
U.S. forces described the tankers as part of a shadow network funding the IRGC and its proxies. Adm. Brad Cooper, CENTCOM commander, said the strikes were meant to impose a higher economic cost: “If you shoot at two of our ships, we will take out three of yours.”
Iranian media reported a tanker near Kharg was struck and its crew evacuated, with no casualties confirmed. The exchange marked a fresh escalation in the months-long conflict.
