Tehran, Iran - After the US military said it destroyed three Iranian oil tankers on Saturday, Iran claimed their naval forces had targeted "unauthorized" vessels near the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards said on Saturday that they had attacked several vessels, including ones allegedly linked to the United States, in retaliation for American strikes on Iranian tankers earlier in the day.

Despite the reported US attacks, Iran appeared undeterred, with the IRGC announcing later Saturday that their naval forces had subsequently "targeted three oil tankers on the unauthorized route of the Strait of Hormuz and three vessels affiliated with the child-killing America in other areas."

It warned other ships not to attempt to transit by unapproved routes.

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CENTCOM did not immediately respond to  AFP's questions about the IRGC claims. There were no immediate reports from the UKMTO shipping agency of civilian tankers being targeted in the strait.

The Iranian foreign ministry earlier hit out at Washington over the strikes on the oil tankers, calling them "illegal and aggressive actions."

A correspondent for Iranian state TV in Jask in the southern province of Hormozgan said one of the tankers was empty and the second was carrying oil. The crews were transported to shore on lifeboats, they said.

Another state TV correspondent on Kharg Island said the attack there caused no casualties.

Iran's Khatam-al Anbiya central military command warned that if the US continued its attacks, then Tehran's retaliation against US warships would be "more severe than before, and there is a possibility of their expansion."