The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed that, in response to the U.S. military’s destruction of five Iranian oil tankers, it targeted two U.S. destroyers, eight oil tankers, and ten other vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.
In a statement released in the early hours of Wednesday, September 9, the military body declared that ten of the vessels were attempting to transit through what it termed the “prohibited and unsafe zone of the Strait of Hormuz” under U.S. military escort.
The IRGC claimed that its naval forces inflicted “heavy damage” on the ships, though it did not disclose the names, flags, or exact attack locations of the eight tankers. Independent sources have not verified these claims.
In a separate statement, the IRGC Aerospace Force claimed that it targeted two U.S. destroyers, hull numbers DDG-119 and DDG-53, with ballistic missiles, causing “significant damage.”
These hull numbers correspond to the guided-missile destroyers USS Delbert D. Black and USS John Paul Jones. The U.S. military has not confirmed any damage to either vessel.
