Rubio Warns Iran Will 'Lose Tankers' for Every Attempted Strike on U.S. Warships

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the United States will keep destroying Iranian oil tankers for every attempt Iran makes to hit U.S. naval vessels, telling reporters, '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.' The statement followed CENTCOM's Tuesday strikes near Kharg Island and Jask.

Why this matters. Rubio's explicit tanker-for-missile retaliation formula signals Washington intends to keep escalating the economic-pressure campaign rather than seek de-escalation, raising the stakes for any further Iranian attempt on U.S. ships.