Iran-US war latest: Tehran retaliates after US strikes three Iranian oil tankers as conflict intensifies

The US and Iran have traded strikes on ships, the latest round of attacks since the conflict flared a week ago after a period of relative calm. US Central Command, which oversees the nation’s military in the Middle East, said it struck three Iranian oil tankers, including one off the coast of Kharg Island, near the nation’s oil export hub, after Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps launched ballistic missiles at two US Navy ships. Admiral ⁠Brad Cooper, head of US Central Command, said: “Let the message to the IRGC be clear: If you shoot at two of our ships, we will impose ⁠an even higher economic cost — taking out three of yours.” The IRGC responded by threatening intensified strikes against US military vessels in the region, and later said it targeted three tankers Tehran that it claimed were on unauthorised routes in the Strait of Hormuz, as well as as three US-linked vessels in other areas. The exchange of attacks followed an escalation in the past week that threatens to deepen a conflict that has continued since the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran in February.In full: Trump gets testy and calls Iran war ‘small potatoes’ when pressed on length of fight President Donald Trump has backed up comments from his vice president and insisted the Iran conflict is a relatively minor operation, rather than a full-on war. "I call it a military conflict because it's small potatoes for us,” the president told reporters in the Oval Office on Friday. “It’s not a big thing.” President Trump claimed the U.S. had successfully stopped Iran from getting a nuclear weapon and alleged U.S. satellite intelligence would spot any future threats from the country the moment they arose. The U.S. had “essentially taken over” Iran, the Republican said. The question of whether the fight is a war has profound implications.