The US military carried out further strikes towards Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps targets in Iran on Tuesday, in response to current tried assaults towards business delivery within the Strait of Hormuz and American troops deployed to the area, in keeping with US Central Command.
“Today at 12 p.m. ET, U.S. forces began striking Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) targets in Iran,” CENTCOM wrote in a post on X.
“The strikes follow recent attempted attacks by the IRGC against commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and against American service members deployed to the region,” the submit provides.
The new spherical of strikes come after the US and Iran traded attacks overnight into Monday — marking the primary trade of fireplace between the 2 nations in over a month.
At the time, Iran stated it fired missiles towards US military targets in Jordan and the United Arab Emirates in retaliation for a US strike on Iranian rocket launchers on Larak Island. The US stated Iran was making an attempt to launch sea mines into the Strait of Hormuz –– the delivery route that’s develop into the middle of regional tensions and diplomatic efforts.
President Donald Trump on Tuesday warned Iran would face extra extreme US military motion if it retaliates towards what he known as a “very justified attack,” whereas noting that the US remains to be holding out on “the biggest attack of them all.”
“The United States is, as we speak, striking Iranian Targets near the Strait of Hormuz. The strikes are large and powerful, and in retaliation for the Iranians’ failed attempt at adding sea mines to the Strait, which currently has no mines (They have been completely removed or detonated!), and the Iranians shooting eight missiles, all successfully knocked down, at our Military Base in Jordan,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post.
Iran has vowed to retaliate to the strikes.
Iran’s Armed Forces Central Headquarters stated Iran would “deliver crushing and devastating blows” towards the “American enemy,” state broadcaster IRIB reported.
“The more the US military persists in its aggression in the region, the greater and heavier the losses it will have to endure,” it stated.
Four projectiles hit the neighboring port cities of Chabahar and Konarak in southeastern Iran, Iranian authorities stated Tuesday.
Multiple explosions have been additionally heard east of Bandar Abbas and round Qeshm Island within the Strait of Hormuz, in keeping with Iran’s state-run broadcaster IRIB.
Bandar Abbas and Qeshm Island sit on the northern facet of the strait, one of many world’s most vital energy-shipping chokepoints, whereas Chabahar and Konarak are twin strategic port cities on the Gulf of Oman that host key business, maritime and military infrastructure.
Oil futures climbed above $94 a barrel on Tuesday after US Central Command introduced the new strikes.
Trump had stated on Monday that US actions in Iran shall be “very limited” following the flare up in tensions this weekend.
“It’s very limited,” Trump stated within the Oval Office, going on to checklist what he stated have been important US military accomplishments over the course of the six-month conflict.
“Their navy is gone. Their air force is gone. Their surveillance equipment is almost entirely gone,” he stated. “That doesn’t mean we won’t smack ‘em. We’ll see what happens.”
Trump insisted the Strait of Hormuz was in “extremely good shape” with many ships transiting, although monitoring information reveals site visitors stays considerably decrease than earlier than the conflict started.
Asked who was in cost in Tehran, Trump stated it remained an open query.
“In my opinion, they don’t know who the leader is,” he stated. “You have the radicals, but they’ve been wiped out from the standpoint of the military because the military is just a fraction of what it was.”
“I don’t really think they know who their leader is,” he stated.
The earlier trade of strikes despatched international oil costs nearly 3% increased and drove US inventory indexes decrease Monday. The assaults occurred days after Trump declared the strait free from mines and marks a shift from Washington’s current focus on maximizing economic pressure on Iran fairly than utilizing military would possibly.
CNN’s Alejandra Jaramillo, Matt Egan, Aida Karimi and Hira Humayun contributed reporting.