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 It's simple: if Iran shoots at US ships, we will destroy (and sink) their oil tankers,  Secretary of War Pete Hegseth wrote on X.  All they have to do is not shoot at US Navy. 

The strikes come amid an escalation in fighting over the past week that threaten to deepen the conflict - and the attacks near Kharg Island are especially significant given repeated threats to target the strategic oil hub.

President Trump posted on Truth Social last week that Kharg Island was being  blown to smithereens,  along with an AI-generated image showing oil storage tanks and refineries erupting in flames, and Iran has vowed a strong response if Tehran's critical islanld infrastructure was attacked.

The first US strike on Kharg Island in March - which hit roughly 90 Iranian military targets while deliberately sparing the oil infrastructure itself - was a major escalation in the United States and Israel's joint military operation against the Iranian regime.