The United States has struck and destroyed five Iranian oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman and near Kharg Island, after accusing Tehran of launching ballistic missiles at a US warship on two separate occasions within two days.

US Central Command (CENTCOM) said Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) had attempted to target a US warship twice in as many days, but the vessel "successfully evaded the attempted Iranian attacks." CENTCOM added that "no American personnel were harmed."

CENTCOM identified the destroyed vessels as M/T Kaviz, M/T Charminar, M/T Horizon 1, and M/T Riesco, all struck in the Gulf of Oman, and M/T Derya, struck near Kharg Island. "American forces directed the crews to abandon ship before the vessels were struck and rendered inoperable," CENTCOM said.

Iran's state broadcaster confirmed the attack near Kharg Island, which handled approximately 90 percent of the country's oil exports before the war. It reported that crews were evacuated and said a second tanker was hit near the southern port of Jask in the Gulf of Oman.

Iran responded to the strikes by firing missiles at US forces stationed at the Al Azraq base in Jordan. The IRGC said it subjected the base to "fierce missile strikes" and claimed that hangars used by US fighter jets were destroyed in the attacks.

Jordan's Armed Forces said its air defences engaged 20 ballistic missiles, "successfully intercepting and destroying 18 of them." The remaining two "fell in unpopulated areas," the military said. The attacks caused no casualties, and specialised teams "have begun securing the locations where debris and shrapnel fell."

The IRGC also claimed that earlier ballistic missile strikes on US Navy destroyers DDG-119 and DDG-53 caused "significant damage… to these vessels." CENTCOM's statement did not address this claim.

The IRGC further threatened to target oil tankers in Kuwaiti and Bahraini ports, warning crews to evacuate immediately. "We warn all the crews of oil tankers in the Kuwaiti and Bahraini ports… to immediately abandon their vessels, whether at anchor or at the ports, because they will be targeted," the Guard said in a statement.

Prior to the US strikes, the chief of staff of Iran's Armed Forces, Ali Abdollahi, had warned that Tehran would hit US military installations across the region if Iranian tankers were attacked. "The US aggressor army has given Iranian oil tankers an evacuation warning to hit them, so I announce that any attack on Iranian oil tankers will result in the targeting of US bases in the region by the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran," Abdollahi said on state television.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington would continue to strike Iranian ships. "Iran continues to try to hit US naval ships, and for every time they do that or try to do that, they're going to lose tankers," Rubio told reporters during a visit to Colombia.

The exchange of fire comes amid escalating tensions in the Gulf, six months into the US and Israel's war on Iran. Tehran has maintained the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, while Washington has enforced a naval blockade on Iranian ports. The hostilities briefly drove oil prices to $99.46 per barrel earlier on Tuesday.