US President Donald Trump has announced that American forces destroyed and sank nine Iranian Navy vessels amid escalating hostilities between Washington and Tehran.
Mr Trump disclosed this in a Facebook post on Sunday, describing the operation as a major blow to Iran’s naval capacity.
“I have just been informed that we have destroyed and sunk 9 Iranian Naval Ships, some of them relatively large and important. We are going after the rest — They will soon be floating at the bottom of the sea, also! In a different attack, we largely destroyed their Naval Headquarters. Other than that, their Navy is doing very well! PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP,” the American leader wrote.
Earlier, the US Central Command confirmed that it had sunk an Iranian vessel in the Gulf of Oman, signalling a widening naval confrontation in the region.
Iran, however, claimed that four of its ballistic missiles struck the US aircraft carrier, USS Abraham Lincoln, in the Gulf.
The US military rejected the claim, stating that all incoming missiles were intercepted and that the aircraft carrier sustained no damage.
The naval clashes are part of a broader conflict that reportedly began on Saturday when the United States and Israel launched coordinated strikes against Iran.
Since then, Tehran has fired multiple missiles targeting Israeli territory as well as US bases and facilities across the Middle East.
The ongoing exchanges have resulted in heavy casualties.
Reports indicate that more than 250 people have died in Iran, including its clerical leader, Ali Khamenei, alongside several senior military figures.
Among the casualties were 185 schoolgirls who were killed when US and Israeli missiles reportedly struck their school.
The United States has confirmed the deaths of three of its service members, while Israel has acknowledged 10 fatalities resulting from Iranian missile attacks.
