Iranian state television has released footage purporting to show ballistic missile attacks targeting a US aircraft carrier and a destroyer, occurring as part of a broader exchange of strikes on military and oil-related assets in and around the strategic Strait of Hormuz.
According to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the two American warships were struck with domestically produced Qasem Basir ballistic missiles. The IRGC alleged that the vessels had been participating in a naval blockade aimed at restricting Iranian shipping movements.
The Guard claimed the missile impacts caused damage to both ships, compelling them to retreat from the operational zone. While Iranian state media presented the broadcast footage as documentation of the strikes, independent verification of the alleged hits and resulting damage has not been possible.
Tehran characterized the naval operations as retaliation for recent US strikes against three Iranian oil tankers.
The US military announced on Saturday that it had struck three tankers associated with the Revolutionary Guard, permanently incapacitating two and eliminating a third. American officials identified the vessels as components of a financial network supporting the IRGC and Iran-affiliated militias throughout the region.
US military reports indicated that one tanker was struck near Kharg Island, home to Iran’s primary oil export terminal, another in the vicinity of the Strait of Hormuz, and the third within the Gulf of Oman.
The Revolutionary Guard acknowledged the loss of three Iranian tankers and subsequently declared retaliatory actions against American naval forces.
In a separate communication on Sunday, the IRGC stated that its naval units had engaged a US unmanned surface vessel allegedly attempting to breach a restricted zone within the Strait of Hormuz. The results of this particular operation remain unconfirmed by independent sources.
Iranian officials additionally reported strikes against three oil tankers purportedly transiting the strait without proper authorization, along with multiple US warships positioned in other theaters.
These mutual hostilities unfold against a backdrop of deteriorating military relations between Washington and Tehran, compounded by frozen diplomatic initiatives aimed at de-escalation. Concurrently, the United States has escalated economic measures against Iran, implementing sanctions and restrictions designed to curtail Iranian oil revenues and target entities affiliated with the Revolutionary Guard.