The United States has confirmed that Iran launched one of its fiercest assaults yet on American naval forces in the Strait of Hormuz, dramatically escalating tensions between Tehran and Washington. According to US officials, Iranian missiles, drones and fast attack boats targeted three US Navy destroyers — USS Truxtun, USS Mason and USS Rafael Peralta — in what officials described as a “fierce and sustained” attack far more intense than earlier confrontations in the Gulf. The US Central Command (CENTCOM) said American forces responded with “self-defense” strikes on Iranian military facilities after what it called “unprovoked Iranian attacks” on US warships transiting the Strait of Hormuz into the Gulf of Oman. US President Donald Trump claimed American forces “knocked the hell out of them” and destroyed multiple Iranian fast boats. Trump also reiterated that Iran “cannot have a nuclear weapon” while insisting the fragile ceasefire between the two countries remains in effect.