US Central Command (CENTCOM) has denied claims by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) that Iranian forces struck two US Navy destroyers operating in the Middle East.
In a statement published on September 10, CENTCOM described the Iranian claims as “completely false,” stating that no US Navy warship had been struck and that all attempted IRGC attacks had failed.
Earlier on, the IRGC claimed that its forces carried out ballistic missile strikes on two US Navy destroyers as part of an operation codenamed "Ya Haidar Karrar". The IRGC claimed that the ballistic missile strikes inflicted significant damage on both destroyers. Iran's officials did not provide further details on the type or extent of the alleged damage.
CENTCOM further said that US forces had destroyed ten Iranian tankers over the past week. According to the command, the vessels were part of a multibillion-dollar shadow network that provides funding for the IRGC.
CENTCOM did not provide further details regarding the alleged attacks or identify the Iranian tankers it said had been destroyed.