Iran says it fired missiles and drones at US warships in Gulf of Oman, claims USS Tripoli retreated

Iran's navy on Friday said that it had fired warning missiles and drones at the US warships in the Gulf of Oman, accusing them of interfering with and harassing the maritime traffic. According to the military statements as reported by the state media, the operation was to counter the “malign activities, disruptions, and the hijacking of commercial vessels and oil tankers by the terrorist U.S. Navy.”

The exchange comes as US forces captured the sanctioned stateless vessel M/T DAVINA in the Indian Ocean. According to statements by Iranian State media, the operations targeted the US guided-missile destroyers DDG-103 (USS Truxtun) and DDG-87 (USS Mason).

The Iranian military reported that following the attacks by “Ghadir missiles and Nedaja’s new Shahid Dana attack drones,” the “aggressor” destroyers left the Gulf of Oman. The statement also added that the amphibious assault ship Tripoli was forced to leave the Gulf of Oman.

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“Despite the expansion and distancing of the enemy’s warships out of the range of the missiles used today, longer-range missiles of this force will be utilised if necessary,” warned the Operations Command and Control Centre of the Army Navy. In tandem with these operations, Iranian naval forces have declared the strategic Strait of Hormuz completely closed to unauthorised transit.

Earlier, a group of 85 Iranian lawmakers had petitioned Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei to authorise the large-scale development and mass production of the intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of reaching the mainland US. While there were several reports that Iran already has successfully tested or unveiled an ICBM, Western intelligence refuted these claims, citing a lack of definitive evidence.