VIDEO | US forces strike Iranian tankers in response to attacks on naval ships

US and Iranian forces fired at vessels in waters around Iran on Saturday, including three Iranian oil carriers struck by the Americans and three tankers that Iran said it targeted while on unauthorised routes in the Strait of Hormuz.

US Central Command said it struck the three Iranian vessels, including one off the coast of Kharg Island, near Iran's oil export hub, after Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps launched ballistic missiles at two US Navy ships.

“Let the message to the IRGC be clear: If you shoot at two of our ships, we will impose an even higher economic cost — taking out three of yours," said Admiral Brad Cooper, head of US Central Command, which oversees the US military in the Middle East.

The IRGC responded by threatening intensified strikes against US military vessels in the region, and said later it targeted the three tankers as well as three US-linked vessels in other areas.