US Defense Secretary Threatens to Destroy Iranian Tankers if They Repeat Attempts to Target US Vessels

Washington, Sept 5 (KUNA) -- U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth threatened on Saturday to destroy Iranian oil tankers if Tehran repeated attempts to target U.S. naval vessels near the Strait of Hormuz. Hegseth made the statement in a post on the social media platform X, hours after Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced that three Iranian oil tankers had been targeted. “It’s simple… if Iran fires on U.S. ships, we will destroy (and sink) their oil tankers,” Hegseth wrote. He added, “All they have to do is stop firing on the U.S. Navy.” He emphasized that “the Iranian oil tanker fleet is defenseless and unprotected… Iran lacks the capability or naval and air forces to protect its oil fleet,” warning that the U.S. Navy and Air Force are capable of “striking them all.” U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) announced earlier on Saturday that three Iranian oil tankers had been targeted and destroyed after the IRGC launched ballistic missiles toward two U.S. Navy warships conducting patrols in the region’s waters. (End) A.M.M./T.M.A.