u/Gobbler_of_Cock

In 1987, during the Iran-Iraq War, an Iraqi jet hit the USS Stark with 2 missiles, crippling the warship and killing 37 American sailors. It was probly an accident. Saddam said "oopsies our bad", and the US chose not to retaliate.

A year later, USS Samuel Roberts hit an Iranian mine that had been laid in the Gulf to blockade Iraq and Kuwait. It was badly damaged but no one died. Reagan responded by ordering a carrier task force to go HAM on the Iranian navy. In one of the biggest naval engagements since WWII, the US destroyed 5 vessels and 2 oil platforms and killed 56 Iranians.