US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Iran would lose tankers if it continued attacking or attempting to attack US Navy ships.
Speaking during a visit to Colombia, Rubio said a similar development could happen again that same day.
US says five tankers were destroyed
In a written statement, US Central Command alleged that Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps had attacked a US warship in the region over the previous two days. The statement said the ship was not damaged and that no crew members were injured.
According to the command, the US military destroyed five Iranian tankers allegedly carrying crude oil in response to the attack. It said the M/T Kaviz, M/T Charminar, M/T Horizon 1 and M/T Riesco were near the Gulf of Oman, while the M/T Derya was near Kharg Island.
US Central Command said tanker crews had been called on to abandon their vessels before the attacks. The command also alleged that Iran used the tankers as part of a "shadow network" it had created to finance its affiliated forces in the region.
Iranian side also reports tanker attacks
Iranian state television reported that, following a US attack on an oil tanker near Kharg Island, two other oil tankers off the city of Jask in Hormozgan province had also been hit by US forces.
The Naval Forces of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps warned that oil tankers near the ports of Bahrain and Kuwait should be evacuated from the area. The statement said the vessels would be attacked.
On September 5, the US military said it had destroyed three tankers belonging to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps after Iran attacked two US warships in the region.
