World News Today Live Updates: IRGC claims new attacks on US warships over naval blockade

Iran warns attacks on US military vessels to intensify if attacks continue.

What happened

Iran warns attacks on US military vessels to intensify if attacks continue. (Photo: AP) Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps confirmed that it had fired a barrage of ballistic missiles toward a US aircraft carrier and a US Navy destroyer operating in the region, accusing the vessels of harassing Iranian shipping and enforcing an ongoing naval blockade against the country. According to US Central Command, both the carrier and the guided-missile destroyer successfully evaded the attacks and that no American personnel were harmed in the exchange. The missile strikes came shortly after US forces disabled two Iranian oil tankers and destroyed a third in what the Pentagon described as retaliation for earlier hostile action against American warships, with CENTCOM commander Adm. Brad Cooper warning the IRGC that any future attack on US ships would draw an even heavier toll on Iran's tanker fleet.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth weighed in directly, posting that the US would "destroy (and sink)" Iran's oil tankers if Iran fired on American ships, telling Tehran that all it needed to do was stop shooting at the Navy. He went further by noting that the US was prepared to strike Iran's tanker fleet wherever it operated, whether in the Middle East or the Indo-Pacific, arguing that the fleet was defenseless since Iran lacks a real navy or air force.

The bottom line

For now, world News Today Live Updates: IRGC claims new attacks on US warships remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.