Iran live updates: US strikes 3 Iranian oil tankers in retaliation for targeting warships

U.S. forces "permanently disabled" two Iranian oil tankers and "completely destroyed" another after Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps launched ballistic missiles toward an American aircraft carrier and destroyer, U.S. Central Command said in a statement Saturday morning.

Neither of the U.S. ships were hit and no servicemembers were injured, CENTCOM said, though the fact that an aircraft carrier was apparently targeted is a notable provocation.

"The three Iranian crude oil tankers are part of a multibillion-dollar shadow network that funds the IRGC and its regional proxies. Iran has no means by which to defend them," CENTCOM said in a statement.

"Let the message to the IRGC be clear: If you shoot at two of our ships, we will impose an even higher economic cost —taking out three of yours," said Adm. Brad Cooper, CENTCOM commander. "We will not hesitate to defend American forces, and if necessary, destroy Iran’s limited and exposed oil fleet."

-ABC News' Benjamin Siu and Luis Martinez

President Donald Trump said the war in Iran is "small potatoes" and "not a big thing" for the U.S. and that the U.S. has "essentially" taken over Iran.

Trump brushed off comments from Vice President JD Vance who said he does not consider the Iran conflict to be a war on Thursday.

Trump insisted that it doesn't matter what it's called. Trump also said he can "understand" Vance's assessment and claimed there is "no fighting" at the moment, despite the recent resumption of military strikes on both sides.

"I would say it's a military conflict if you want. Some people could call it. I don't think it matters what you call it," Trump said.

A spokesman for Iran foreign ministry accused the United States of "deliberately attacking civilian targets" in a post on his X account on Thursday.

Esmaeil Baqaei said that Iranian recent strikes on Qatar have been "defensive" and only targeted U.S. bases in Qatari soil, adding that America has targeted "schools, hospitals, residential neighborhoods, wedding ceremonies, bridges, and more."

Vice President JD Vance was asked earlier in the day about reports that civilians were struck in recent U.S. attacks, during a wedding celebration.

Vance did not weigh in on specifics, saying that the U.S. is investigating the incident, but added that he is "extremely skeptical" of the reports because they come out of Iran.

"What I can say with 100% confidence is that unlike the IRGC, the United States never targets civilians in combat. We never will do that. We never have done that. And unfortunately, obviously, sometimes things happen," he told reporters.

-ABC News' Somayeh Malekian and Isabella Murray

Vice President JD Vance tried to downplay the war, saying it’s not a war at all, while speaking to reporters at the White House.

"I wouldn't call it a war. Right now, there is no active shooting. I recognize there is -- there have been places where this is flared up, major combat operations," Vance argued.

"Again, major combat operations lasted for about six weeks. And since then, we destroyed, of course, their nuclear facilities with Midnight Hammer. With Epic Fury, we destroyed their defense industrial base for producing weapons. And also a lot of their conventional military. And then we made it harder for them to rebuild that nuclear program," he continued.

Pressed on when this will end, Vance put the onus on the Iranians saying they need to stop shooting at commercial ships, but he notably did not say what the plan is to get Iran to stop shooting.

"I think the reality is, I don't know the answer to that question. You would have to ask the Iranians. When will the Iranians shooting at ships stop having an effect on world energy markets?" he said.

"What we're going to do is not depend on the Iranians behaving responsibly or negotiating in good faith. What we're going to do is use the tools that we have at our disposal to ensure that the American people, one, never have to deal with the threat of an Iranian nuclear program and to the world, energy markets are properly supplied," he said.

Vance repeatedly refused to put any kind of timeline on this conflict.

"The United States is the only country with the capability to ensure that those oil and gas ships get to market. Well, what I would say is it would be irresponsible for us to write out our strategy and our timeline for an Iranian nation that simply cannot honor its commitments and cannot stop shooting at commercial ships," he said.

-ABC News' Mary Bruce