US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has escalated the rhetoric around the Strait of Hormuz campaign. In a post on X he wrote: "It's simple: if Iran shoots at U.S. ships, we will destroy (and sink) their oil tankers. All they have to do is not shoot at @USNavy," adding that "Iran's oil tanker fleet is defenseless — Iran has no navy or air force. Our planes, ships & subs can strike them all" [1]. That goes further than CENTCOM commander Adm. Brad Cooper, who said in Saturday's strike statement that the US would "if necessary, destroy Iran's limited and exposed oil fleet" [1] [2].

CENTCOM's account, carried by Stars and Stripes and the Associated Press, says a US aircraft carrier and a guided-missile destroyer evaded multiple Iranian ballistic missiles with no US personnel hurt, and that strikes permanently disabled the tankers Downy off Kharg Island and Stark 1 near Jask, while the unladen Kylo was hit in multiple critical locations in the Gulf of Oman and its crew was directed to abandon ship [1] [2]. CENTCOM further said the three vessels were part of a shadow network helping to fund the IRGC and its regional proxies — a financing allegation that is not independently verified in these reports [1].

Separately, CENTCOM spokesman Capt. Tim Hawkins said the command is looking into Iranian state-media reports that US forces killed several civilians in a Tuesday strike on a wedding in Kuhestak, in southern Iran's Sirik County; Western outlets have independently verified imagery from the scene [1]. AP notes the US military has been helping guide ships through the strait as Tehran asserts control and targets some vessels, but that overall traffic remains low [2].