IRAN has targeted US bases in Jordan with ballistic missiles and attacked 10 navy ships, after American forces destroyed five regime-linked tankers.
Dramatic footage released by US Centcom showed the moment an Iranian tanker was blasted and sent sinking to the bottom of the Gulf of Oman.
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Escalating tit-for-tat strikes have shattered weeks of relative calm, which continued over the summer even after a ceasefire between Iran and the US expired.
The latest US strikes targeted tankers linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard around Kharg Island and near Jask, east of the Strait of Hormuz.
The US said on Wednesday they had destroyed a total of five Iranian oil tankers, posting dramatic footage of their blitzes.
One video showed a powerful strike on the M/T Riesco in the Gulf of Oman.
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A huge strike can be seen sending a huge black cloud of smoke into the air.
The vessel is completely engulfed in flames, tilting dangerously before its stern starts sinking.
Centcom said the ship was destroyed “in response to attempted IRGC attacks on a U.S. Navy warship”.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters: “Iran continues to try to hit U.S. naval ships, and for every time they do that or try to do that, they’re going to lose tankers.”
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As the US blasted the tankers, it warned Tehran that it would “if necessary, destroy Iran’s limited and exposed oil fleet“.
In response to the tanker blasts Iran attempted to wreak revenge with a ballistic missile attack on a base used by US forces near Al Azraq in Jordan, according to the IRGC.
The regime claimed it had inflicted heavy damage on the base, but Jordan said it had suffered no casualties, with 18 of the 20 Iranian missiles intercepted and two falling in unpopulated areas.
Iran claimed it would set up a new “exclusion zone” near the Strait of Hormuz blocking ships from sailing through.
The IRGC said it had also attacked two US ships and eight tankers, attempting to cross a “prohibited and unsafe” area of the critical oil chokepoint.
Washington says the crucial waterway remains open and under US control.
Increased fighting sent oil prices shooting up above $100 a barrel for the first time since July on Wednesday as the re-ignited conflict threatens the global supply.
The US said the strikes came 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”, according to Centcom.
No US personnel were hurt, it added.
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