Al Jazeera reported that Iran responded to Tuesday’s attacks by firing missiles at US forces stationed at the Al Azraq base in Jordan.

Tehran also claimed attacks on at least two US vessels and eight tankers in the region, saying the strikes caused “great damage”.

The latest exchange of fire comes amid escalating tensions in the Gulf, six months into the US and Israel’s war on Iran. Tehran has closed the Strait of Hormuz, while Washington is enforcing a naval blockade of Iranian ports.

The hostilities pushed oil prices to $99.49 a barrel in early trading on Wednesday.

In a statement late Tuesday, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) had attempted to target a US warship twice over the previous two days, but the vessel “successfully evaded the attempted Iranian attacks”.

“No American personnel were harmed,” CENTCOM said.

The US military said it subsequently struck and destroyed four Iranian oil carriers — M/T Kaviz, M/T Charminar, M/T Horizon 1 and M/T Riesco — in the Gulf of Oman, and M/T Derya near Kharg Island.

“American forces directed the crews to abandon ship before the vessels were struck and rendered inoperable,” CENTCOM said.

CENTCOM later released a video it said showed the M/T Riesco sinking in the Gulf of Oman.

Iran’s state broadcaster IRIB confirmed the attack near Kharg Island, which handled about 90 percent of Iran’s oil exports before the war. It said the crew had been evacuated and that a second tanker was hit near the southern port of Jask in the Gulf of Oman.

The IRGC later said five tankers had been targeted.

In retaliation, the IRGC said it carried out “fierce missile strikes” against the Al Azraq base in Jordan, claiming that hangars used by US fighter jets were destroyed.

The IRGC also claimed ballistic missile attacks on the US Navy’s DDG-119 and DDG-53 destroyers, saying the strikes caused “significant damage” to the vessels.

In a subsequent statement, the IRGC said its naval forces had targeted “2 American vessels and 8 tankers in the region, causing great damage”. It was not immediately clear whether the two American vessels referred to were the same destroyers mentioned in its earlier statement.

There was no immediate comment from the US on the Iranian claims.

The attacks on the vessels came after the IRGC warned of imminent attacks on oil tankers near the borders of Bahrain and Kuwait and ordered all crews to evacuate immediately.

Jordan’s Armed Forces said its air defences engaged 20 ballistic missiles and successfully intercepted and destroyed 18 of them. The remaining two missiles fell in unpopulated areas, it said.

The attacks caused no casualties, according to the Jordanian military. Specialised teams had also begun securing areas where debris and shrapnel fell, it added.

Earlier, Iran’s Armed Forces chief of staff, Ali Abdollahi, had warned that Tehran would target US military installations across the region if Iranian tankers were attacked.