Drone Attack on Oil Tankers and Retaliatory Strikes Between US Bases

[Anchor]

Tensions surrounding the Strait of Hormuz are escalating once again. Just two days after launching another airstrike against Iran, the United States has faced retaliatory attacks from Iran targeting US military bases in Jordan and Iraq.

Reporter Yu Deok-gi has the details.

[Reporter]

Two oil tankers anchored off the coast of Iran explode in succession after being hit by missiles fired from US military drones.

US media reported that the action follows a new policy under which the US will attack Iranian oil tankers if Iran targets oil tankers.

Having struck rocket launchers used for laying mines two days prior, the US military carried out massive bombardments this time against Iranian oil tankers as well as more than 100 military targets within Iran.

Iranian media reported that a bomb struck a wedding venue during the operations, killing five people, including children, and injuring more than 50 others.

Trump threatened that if Iran retaliates once more, it will be wiped off the face of the earth.

Iran immediately launched counterattacks.

Having previously targeted a US air base in Jordan, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed that it launched additional retaliatory strikes using ballistic missiles and drones against US military bases and assets in Jordan, Iraq, and Bahrain, resulting in the deaths of multiple US service members in Jordan.

The Revolutionary Guard further announced that two oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz struck sea mines and were rendered inoperable.

[Ebrahim Zolfaghari / Spokesperson, Central Headquarters of the Iranian Armed Forces: We warn that if the United States continues its malign actions in this region, it will face a more powerful, extensive, and devastating response.]

Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the speaker of Iran's parliament and its chief negotiator with the US, pushed back against US economic and military pressure, threatening that if Iran's oil export routes are blocked, it will resort to armed response and completely cut off oil exports from other nations as well.

Amid recent renewed mediation efforts to bring both sides back to the negotiating table, the resumption of military clashes has plunged the situation in the Middle East back into turmoil.

(Video Editing: Lee Seung-yeol, Design: Lim Chan-hyuk, Park Tae-young)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.