NEW YORK — The United States and Iran attacked each other's vessels again, as speculation grows that South Korea may deploy military forces to the Strait of Hormuz.
U.S. Central Command said in a statement on the 5th that it had struck three Iranian crude oil carriers after Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps fired ballistic missiles at two U.S. Navy warships patrolling the waters. The vessels Central Command said it had disabled were the tanker Downey, which had been near Kharg Island, Iran's largest oil export terminal; the Stark 1, near the Jask area; and the tanker Kylo, which was in the Gulf of Oman without a crude cargo.
Iran's IRGC acknowledged that it had attacked one U.S. aircraft carrier and one destroyer, and said that after the U.S. retaliation it struck again at three tankers passing through unauthorized routes in the Strait of Hormuz and at three U.S.-linked vessels in other waters.
President Donald Trump warned that if anything goes wrong, the United States would strike Pickaxe Mountain hard in the very near future.
Trump Calls It "Small Potatoes," Iran Threatens "Devastating Response"
Iran and the United States traded increasingly heavy retaliation in the Strait of Hormuz over the weekend, widening the scope of their attacks. Trump played down the latest exchange as "small potatoes," while Iran disclosed that it had struck vessels every day for 10 days and issued a warning over South Korea's possible troop deployment.
Ali Mohammadi, deputy commander for political affairs of the IRGC Navy, said that over the 10 days through the 30th of last month, Iranian forces had punished between two and five violating vessels every night, according to the Fars news agency on the 5th. In a separate statement, the Revolutionary Guard warned that if the U.S. administration continues its aggressive and hostile acts, it should be prepared for a devastating response from Iran's armed forces.
The latest clash escalated on the afternoon of the 5th, when U.S. forces in the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman came under Iranian attack on two warships and struck back at three Iranian tankers. Two of the tankers were disabled and one was destroyed, according to the Associated Press. Iran then said it struck again at three tankers passing through unauthorized routes and at three U.S.-linked vessels in other waters. The Revolutionary Guard said the targets also included a U.S. military unmanned surface vessel.
Trump, however, said he would call it a military conflict because it is small potatoes for the United States, adding that the truth is that they are not fighting now. Vice President J.D. Vance also said on the 4th that major combat operations had ended months ago and that he would not define the current armed clashes as a "war."
The effort by Trump and his senior aides to minimize the impact of the war appears aimed at public opinion, which has soured as the conflict has dragged on. The national average gasoline price in the United States stood at $4.14 a gallon on the 4th, the highest ever for the month of September, according to the American Automobile Association. Declining to define the ongoing attacks as an official military operation also serves to avoid the need for congressional authorization. Brad Cooper, commander of U.S. Central Command, nonetheless threatened Iran that the intensity of attacks could rise further.
Iran Threatens to Treat Korean Deployment as War
Against this backdrop, a possible South Korean deployment to the Strait of Hormuz has become another variable. Trump said on the 4th that the United States is still waiting for South Korea to deploy resources to the Middle East, stressing that the country is one of the largest customers for Middle Eastern crude. Iran, by contrast, warned that if South Korea decides to send troops, it would regard that as participation in U.S. and Israeli "aggression" against Iran and would not stand idly by.
A senior Iranian security and political official said South Korea should not yield to U.S. pressure forcing it to cooperate with an illegal American military operation, according to Al Mayadeen. The official said South Korea should not sacrifice its own interests and reputation for U.S. policies that shake security and stability, stressing that if South Korea takes action against Iran, Tehran would regard it as direct military aggression against Iran and participation in a war.
Separately, U.S. intelligence agencies have assessed that Iran is considering expanding the scope of its attacks in the near future to include U.S. and Israeli targets, according to the Israeli outlet i24 News.
