US and Iran exchange retaliatory strikes on ships in Gulf of Oman and Strait of Hormuz

The US and Iran traded retaliatory attacks on ships on Saturday, in the latest round of strikes since fighting flared up a week ago following a month of relative calm.

The US military said it had "permanently disabled" two Iran-linked oil tankers, including one near Kharg Island, and "completely destroyed" a third in the Gulf of Oman.

Iran's state media confirmed the strikes and said Tehran had attacked three US-affiliated vessels in response, as well as three oil tankers travelling through the Strait of Hormuz along an "unauthorised" route.

The BBC has approached US Central Command (Centcom) for comment about Iran's latest claims to have targeted US ships.

The strikes come a day after President Donald Trump dismissed the conflict as "small potatoes", with little apparent progress towards ending the six-month war. He has not commented on Saturday's attacks.

The news of Iran's latest retaliation came hours after Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth wrote on social media: "It's simple: if Iran shoots at US ships, we will destroy (and sink) their oil tankers."

According to US Central Command (Centcom), two US warships had been targeted by Iran before the American attack on three Iran-linked oil tankers.

Centcom said it "successfully evaded" the multiple attacks from the IRGC earlier in the day, which were targeting a US aircraft carrier and guided-missile destroyer. No American troops were harmed, it said.

Centcom, which oversees US military operations in the Middle East, claimed that the three Iranian oil tankers it hit were "part of a multi-billion-dollar shadow network that funds the IRGC and its regional proxies".

Iranian state media outlet Irib reported that there were no casualties in Saturday's attack from the US on the tanker near Kharg Island.

Kharg Island hosts Iran's main terminal to export oil. Some 90% of the country's crude oil comes through the island, transported through pipes from the mainland.

The crews aboard the two attacked tankers in the Gulf of Oman were taken to shore in lifeboats, Irib reported. One of those tankers was empty and the other was carrying a load of oil, it added.

Several hours later, Irib reported that Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) had retaliated against six ships in the region - three oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz and three vessels "affiliated" with the US "in other areas".

According to Irib, the IRGC said the three oil tankers were using "unauthorised" routes through the strait and it warned other ships not to do so.

The strait, which is crucial to the world's oil and gas industry, has been effectively closed since the war began in February, and has become a major source of leverage for Iran.

Tehran has insisted it will not give up some measure of control over the waterway and has previously targeted vessels using a southern route through Omani waters that avoids its preferred route through Iranian waters.

Despite the Iranian attacks, Trump has declared that the strait is "open" and the US military has been helping ships navigate the southern route.

After a period of relative calm, the US resumed attacks last Sunday, when it said it had struck two rocket launchers to prevent them being used to lay naval mines in the Strait of Hormuz.