Small Potatoes

The United States said it struck and destroyed three Iranian oil tankers on Saturday in response to attempted missile attacks on naval vessels, in the latest exchange of fire since renewed hostilities flared between the foes. The new clashes come with both sides deadlocked in the six-month war as Iran keeps a stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz and Washington presses its counter-blockade of Iranian ports.

US Central Command said it targeted tankers linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, accusing the most powerful arm of the Iranian military of unsuccessfully firing at American warships. Video posted by CENTCOM showed large fireballs and billowing flames after projectiles slammed into the ships. "Following Iran's failed attacks, CENTCOM permanently disabled the IRGC crude oil carriers," it said in a statement.

"Small potatoes"

The Trump administration has been seeking to play down the significance of the six-month conflict, which has proven increasingly unpopular at home as midterm elections near. Vice President JD Vance went so far as to say that he "wouldn't call it a war", claiming that "right now, there is no active shooting" despite the ongoing exchanges of fire. Trump backed his comments, calling the Iran war "small potatoes" for the US and insisting: "It's not a big thing."

Iran's security chief Mohsen Rezaei warned the US that the Islamic republic had adopted a "new strategy" against Washington in the war that "will shatter your foundations". On Thursday, Tehran said its armed forces attacked US military bases in Kuwait and the UAE, vowing to avenge civilian deaths at a wedding that it blamed on an American strike.