ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - The United States and Iran on Saturday traded threats after three Iranian tankers were hit following strikes on two US Navy ships earlier in the day.

US Central Command (CENTCOM) on Saturday said that it struck three Iranian oil tankers after Iran attacked two US Navy warships.

US Defense Secretary later warned that US forces would strike Iran’s “defenseless” oil tankers if their navy’s ships are targeted.

“It’s simple: if Iran shoots at US ships, we will destroy (and sink) their oil tankers. All they have to do is not shoot at US Navy,” Hegseth wrote on X.

In response, Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters vowed that the strikes would be met with retaliation, calling them “acts of malice, insecurity, and harassment towards Iranian ships.”

Iran’s foreign ministry also strongly condemned the attack on the vessels, reaffirming Tehran’s “determination to firmly defend its sovereignty and national interests against state-sponsored terrorism and aggressive US actions.”

Military tensions between the two sides escalated when the US Central Command (CENTCOM) on Tuesday evening announced it was targeting Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) targets in Iran, following alleged attempted IRGC attacks on commercial ships.

The strikes were followed by a series of Iranian airstrikes targeting US interests across the Middle East, including the Kurdistan Region, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Jordan.

The recent escalation comes as little progress has been made in bringing the war to a conclusive halt. Despite Trump’s insistence that the Strait of Hormuz is open for transit, shipping data shows that commercial passage through the strategic waterway remains significantly below pre-conflict levels amid ongoing Iranian restrictions.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Tuesday said that Tehran is ready to return to the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed with Washington in July, which saw the temporary reopening of the strait before the US accused Iran of breaching its terms by targeting vessels failing to comply with Iranian-imposed shipping routes.