US strikes empty oil tankers allegedly trying to reach Iran: Report

A fresh wave of US airstrikes on Friday targeted empty oil tankers trying to reach blockaded Iranian ports, Fox News reported, citing a US official.

“These were Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCC) ... massive, empty ships trying to make it back to Iran,” the broadcaster quoted the senior official as saying, adding that several vessels attempting “to run the blockade” were hit.

The alleged strikes came after reports of clashes between Iranian and US forces in and around the Strait of Hormuz.

Iranian naval forces late Thursday allegedly attacked three US warships in the strait, while the US military reportedly carried out airstrikes targeting Iran’s Qeshm Port and Bandar Abbas.

Ebrahim Zolfaqari, spokesperson for Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, said the US military violated the ceasefire by attacking an Iranian oil tanker.

Zolfaqari also alleged that US forces targeted another vessel entering the Strait of Hormuz off the coast of Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates.

For its part, US Central Command (CENTCOM) claimed that Iran carried out “unprovoked” attacks on US naval assets transiting the strait and that American forces responded “in self-defense.”

US President Donald Trump said three US destroyers allegedly targeted by Iran while moving through the Strait of Hormuz toward the Gulf of Oman were not damaged.

“There was no damage done to the three destroyers, but great damage done to the Iranian attackers,” he said.