(Updates with additional details from the US Central Command's statement throughout the article.)
US Central Command said Tuesday that US forces destroyed five Iranian crude oil carriers after Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps twice targeted a US Navy warship with ballistic missiles over the past two days.
The warship evaded both Iranian attacks and continued patrols in regional waters, while the military said no American personnel suffered harm during the attempted strikes.
Centcom said its forces struck the tankers in the Gulf of Oman and near Kharg Island.
US forces directed the tanker crews to abandon the vessels before striking them, leaving all five carriers inoperable, according to Centcom.
The military said Iran uses the tankers within a multibillion-dollar shadow network that generates funding for the IRGC and its regional proxy groups.
On Saturday, Centcom forces destroyed three additional Iranian crude oil carriers after the IRGC targeted a US aircraft carrier and a guided-missile destroyer, with all attacks on US Navy warships failing, Centcom said.
Iranian state media reported Tuesday that US military forces had conducted strikes near Kharg Island.
An Iranian oil tanker was targeted about 4 miles offshore, as explosions were also reported 12 kilometers from the island, Mehr News Agency reported Tuesday, citing Tasnim News.
Tasnim said US forces struck the tanker with a projectile near the Kharg Island anchorage, citing local sources who reported the incident.
Local sources said the attack caused no casualties, while the tanker's crew evacuated the vessel as authorities began assessing the incident, according to the report.
Explosions were heard near Kharg Island, while a tanker came under attack about 12 km from the island's shoreline, according to the reports.
Following the reported strike, Iranian Armed Forces Chief of General Staff Ali Abdollahi warned in a social media post that Iran would target US bases in the region if US forces attack its oil tankers.
"The aggressor US military has issued an evacuation warning to Iranian oil tankers in order to strike them. Therefore, I declare that any aggression against Iranian oil tankers will result in US bases in the region being targeted by the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran," Abdollahi said.
Iran's Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not immediately reply to' request for comment.