US destroys five Iranian tankers as Tehran takes aim at Jordan

U.S. forces destroyed five Iranian oil tankers on Tuesday after Iran's Revolutionary Guards targeted a U.S. Navy warship with ballistic missiles. U.S. Central Command said the warship successfully evaded the attacks and no American personnel were harmed. The crews of the five vessels were ordered to abandon ship before the strikes. Iran then launched missiles towards U.S. targets in Jordan, according to Iranian state media. Jordan's military said it intercepted 18 ballistic missiles while two others fell in unpopulated areas. No casualties were reported. The escalation followed Iran's capture of an unmanned U.S. underwater vessel near the entrance to Strait of Hormuz. Iranian state television broadcast images of what it said was the captured drone. Washington also imposed new sanctions on more than two dozen airlines and cargo providers linked to Iran's aviation sector. The latest exchanges have intensified the struggle for control of the Strait of Hormuz through which around one-fifth of the world's oil passed before the war.