US forces destroyed five Iranian crude oil carriers on Wednesday after Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps attacked an American warship with ballistic missiles, Central Command said.
The US ship evaded the attempted Iranian attacks and continued to patrol regional waters. No American troops were harmed.
Shortly after the tanker strikes, Iran retaliated with a ballistic missile attack on a US base near Al Azraq in Jordan, according to an IRGC statement.
Iranian state media published video of what it said were missiles launched at Jordan. Centcom did not immediately comment on the Iranian claims.
Centcom said it had destroyed the IRGC crude oil carriers Kaviz, Charminar, Horizon 1 and Riesco in the Gulf of Oman, and the Derya near Kharg Island. Iranian state media had earlier reported explosions on or near the island.
In a statement, Centcom said its forces had told crews to abandon ship before their vessels were struck and "rendered inoperable".
On Saturday, Centcom said its forces destroyed three Iranian crude oil carriers after the IRGC tried to attack a US aircraft carrier and guided-missile destroyer.
"Iran continues to try to hit US naval ships, and every time they do that, or try to do that, they're going to lose tankers," US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters.
After the strikes, Iranian news agency Mehr quoted the IRGC as warning tanker crews in Kuwaiti and Bahraini ports to abandon ship "because they will be targeted".
Wednesday's actions are the latest in a war that had seemed to be easing, before the US and Iran began trading strikes again in late August.
Although the ceasefire between Tehran and Washington broke down in July, months after it was struck in April, the war entered a lull, with both sides exercising restraint.
Despite the earlier failure of diplomacy, negotiations began to ensure the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran effectively closed at the start of the war.
But in August, the US carried out strikes on Iranian targets, accusing it of trying to reseed the strait with mines and attacking shipping.
Iran retaliated with ballistic missile strikes on US military bases, including one in Jordan.
Tehran has threatened to attack US energy interests in the Gulf should strikes on Iranian territory continue.
Oil prices, edging higher over the new series of strikes starting last month, closed in on $100 a barrel, with Brent crude at more than $99.
