AGENCIES

Tensions rose in the Strait of Hormuz yesterday as both the United States and Iran claimed attacks on vessels, with Donald Trump warning Iran that its forces would be “blown off the face of the earth” if they targeted US ships guiding vessels through the strait.

A top US admiral said the US shot down multiple Iranian missiles and drones fired at US Navy and commercial vessels and destroyed six of Tehran’s small boats.

US Apache and Seahawk helicopters hit “six Iranian small boats threatening commercial shipping,” Admiral Brad Cooper, the head of US Central Command (CENTCOM), told journalists.

US forces also “effectively engaged”

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