Secretary of war challenges Iranian regime: Hegseth warns, ‘If Iran shoots at US ships, we will destroy their oil tankers’

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth issued a strong warning to the Iranian regime on Saturday, stating that the administration of President Donald Trump has the military capability to strike the Islamic theocracy's oil fleet if Iranian forces continue to attack U.S. Navy vessels. "It’s simple: if Iran shoots at U.S. ships, we will destroy (and sink) their oil tankers. All they have to do is not shoot at [the] U.S. Navy," Hegseth wrote on X.

Later, Hegseth emphasized the difference between the two countries' military capabilities and argued that Iran has limited means to defend its oil fleet against the United States’ military might. "Iran’s oil tanker fleet is defenseless — Iran has no navy or air force. Our planes, ships and subs can strike them all, in U.S. Central Command and U.S. Pacific Command," Hegseth added.

The secretary of war's remarks came shortly after U.S. forces attacked and disabled three Iranian oil tankers linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) after the military organization launched ballistic missiles at two American warships, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) reported on Saturday. According to an official statement from CENTCOM, a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier and a guided-missile destroyer managed to evade the Iranian attacks, and no members of U.S. forces were injured.

CENTCOM stated that the three oil tankers were part of a multimillion-dollar clandestine network used to finance the Revolutionary Guard Corps and its allied groups in the region, and identified them as the M/T Downy, attacked off the Iranian island of Kharg; the M/T Stark 1, near Jask; and the M/T Kylo, located in the Gulf of Oman. The latter was empty and was struck in several places after its crew received orders to abandon the vessel, according to U.S. military command.

In response, Iran's Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the U.S. attacks on three Iranian oil tankers on Saturday, calling them a "war crime," and warned Washington and its allies that they would be held responsible for any further escalation. In its statement, the ministry accused the United States of carrying out a broader campaign of military and economic pressure against Iran and asserted that the attacks violated Article 2(4) of the United Nations Charter.