US says Iranian tankers ‘destroyed’ after missile attacks on American warship

Tit-for-tat violence surges again in region, with tankers struck by the US in the Gulf of Oman, and reprisal attacks by Iran on a US base in Jordan

The US military on Tuesday said it “destroyed” multiple Iranian tankers, after Iran attempted to strike a US navy warship with ballistic missiles, as violence once again surged across the region, pushing the price of oil close to $100 a barrel.

American forces struck the tankers in the Gulf of Oman and near Iran’s Kharg Island, US central command (Centcom) said in a statement, adding that American forces “directed the crews to abandon ship before the vessels were struck”.