TEHRAN - Iran’s Army said on Friday that several American warships operating in the Sea of Oman were forced to withdraw from the region after Iranian naval forces carried out warning strikes using cruise missiles and advanced drones.

In a statement, the Army said the operation was part of its ongoing effort to counter “maritime mischief and disruptions and the hijacking of commercial vessels and oil tankers by the terrorist naval force of the United States.”

“After warning shots by the Qadir missile and the new Shahid Dana invading drones of the Islamic Republic of Iran's Navy, the transgressor destroyers DDG-103 and DDG-8 left the Sea of Oman toward the Indian Ocean,” it said.

The Iranian Navy also said that the USS Tripoli—an amphibious assault helicopter carrier—had been compelled to leave the Sea of Oman.

"Following this operation and similar operations in recent days, in addition to the Zionist-American enemy destroyers operating under the USS George H.W. Bush carrier strike group, the Tripoli amphibious assault helicopter carrier has also been compelled to leave the Sea of Oman," it said.

The Naval Operations Command and Control Center of Iran's Army issued a warning to the US-Israeli side, stressing the need to immediately halt “maritime theft and mischief.”

It added that although US warships had moved beyond the range of the missiles used in the warning operation, Iranian forces possess longer-range missiles that would be used without hesitation if deemed necessary.

Iran has repeatedly warned that the country’s armed forces have their “fingers on the trigger” and deal a more crushing blow to a possible new act of aggression by the US and Israel. The United States and Israel launched war on Iran on February 28. Iran’s strong military response compelled the US to reach a ceasefire with Iran on April 8.