Rubio vows to continue attacks on Iranian tankers after Iran hits US warship

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the United States would continue to target Iranian tankers in retaliatory strikes on Tuesday, as US authorities said five vessels had already been hit.

"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, and I think you'll see that again today," he told reporters on a visit to Colombia.

Meanwhile, US forces destroyed five Iranian oil carriers on Tuesday after Tehran launched ballistic missiles at an American warship twice in recent days, the US military said.

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Iran claims capture of US Navy's underwater drone

"American forces directed the crews to abandon ship before the vessels were struck and rendered inoperable," US Central Command said in a statement, adding the strikes were "in response to Iran's most recent failed attacks."