IRGC: Missiles Struck US Carrier, Destroyer in Gulf

By Al Mayadeen English

Iran's IRGC says its Aerospace Force struck a US aircraft carrier and a destroyer with ballistic missiles, part of a widening naval confrontation in the Gulf.

Iran's Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) said Saturday that its Aerospace Force fired ballistic missiles at a US aircraft carrier and a guided-missile destroyer in Gulf waters, revealing that the two vessels were harassing Iranian shipping as part of Washington's naval blockade.

In a statement numbered "Announcement No. 10," the IRGC said the missiles damaged both warships and forced them to withdraw from the area out of fear of a follow-up strike.

The Guard Corps said Washington was compelled into an official admission that its vessels had come under attack, calling this proof of the enemy's strategic defeat and a demonstration of its own offensive capability.

It vowed that Iran's armed forces would keep defending the country "with determination," declaring, "Victory belongs to the resistant nation of Islamic Iran."

Part of a widening naval confrontation

The strike on the carrier and destroyer came the same day the IRGC Navy said it had separately hit three tankers transiting an unauthorized route through the Strait of Hormuz, along with three US-affiliated vessels elsewhere, in retaliation for earlier US strikes on Iranian oil tankers.

The IRGC Navy warned commercial operators against being "deceived by the US terrorist military" and cautioned that any vessel crossing unauthorized waterways in the Strait or the wider Gulf would be targeted.

The US military has acknowledged striking three Iranian crude tankers Saturday, with CENTCOM saying two were permanently disabled and a third destroyed.

Iran's leadership escalates warnings

Iran's Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters issued a broader warning alongside the IRGC's statement, with spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Ebrahim Zolfaghari saying continued US strikes, interference with Iranian shipping, and enforcement of the naval blockade would draw retaliation against American warships "more severe than before," and that operations could expand in scope if Washington persists.

Iran's Foreign Ministry separately condemned the tanker strikes as part of Washington's naval blockade and "economic war" against Iran, describing the attacks as a violation of the UN Charter's prohibition on the use of force and a war crime.

The Ministry said Iran would continue defending its territory, commercial vessels, and economic interests, and held Washington and any states assisting its campaign responsible for the consequences of further escalation.

Washington's blockade on Iranian oil exports

Saturday's exchanges unfolded against the backdrop of a US naval blockade targeting Iranian oil exports, which has intensified confrontations in the Strait of Hormuz.

Washington imposed the restrictions, eased them briefly during a diplomatic push, then reinstated the blockade in July.

Iranian officials say exports and revenue have continued regardless, with the Central Bank reporting close to $9 billion in oil revenue made available since the start of the year.