US Defense Secretary threatens to destroy Iranian tankers if they repeat attempts to target US vessels - Sarmad

(KUNA) – U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth threatened on Saturday to destroy Iranian oil tankers if Tehran repeated its attempt 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 the targeting of three Iranian oil tankers was announced. He said, “It’s simple... If Iran fires on U.S. ships, we will destroy (and sink) their oil tankers.”

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) had announced earlier on Saturday that it had targeted and destroyed three Iranian oil tankers following the launch of ballistic missiles by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard toward two U.S. Navy warships conducting patrols in the region’s waters.