The US military said it destroyed five Iranian oil tankers in response to the latest attacks on its warships. Tehran hit back at American targets in Jordan, the latest burst of back-and-forth strikes.

Jordan’s military said its air defence systems intercepted 18 ballistic missiles launched towards its territory and two others fell in places where no one lives. It said it has no reports of casualties.

The Trump administration on Tuesday also imposed sanctions on additional elements of Iran’s aviation industry, targeting more than two dozen commercial and private airlines as well as foreign cargo service providers, in its new push to isolate Tehran from its trading partners.

Rising energy prices are posing political problems for US President Donald Trump and his Republican Party ahead of the November midterm elections. A barrel of international standard Brent crude briefly climbed as high as US$99.46 on Tuesday.

The US forces also destroyed three Iranian oil tankers on Saturday after Iran’s Revolutionary Guards tried to attack a US aircraft carrier and destroyer with ballistic missiles.

Iran later said it planned to announce a new “exclusion zone” near the Strait of Hormuz aimed at vessels intending to transit.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the US will not allow Iran’s attacks to go unanswered.

“Iran continues to try to hit US naval ships. And for every time they do that or try to do that, they’re going to lose tankers. And I think you’ll see that again today,” Rubio said while on a trip to Colombia.

US Central Command said the military struck the tankers on Tuesday after the Revolutionary Guards targeted a Navy warship with ballistic missiles twice over the past two days.

Iranian state television also reported the strikes, saying US forces attacked Iranian oil tankers near the southern port of Jask and near Kharg Island in the Persian Gulf. It said the crews were evacuated.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Navy on Tuesday had warned crews of oil tankers near ports in Kuwait and Bahrain to immediately leave their vessels, saying the ships could be targeted in retaliation for US attacks on Iranian tankers. It accused Kuwait and Bahrain of hosting US forces and assisting in the attacks. (AP)



Edited by Altis Wong