US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced that it completed a third round of strikes against Iran on 11 July, holding Iranian forces responsible for another attack on a commercial vessel in the Strait of Hormuz.
Meanwhile, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said on Sunday that it had struck and disabled a second vessel in the Strait of Hormuz. It also claimed to have targeted the strategic US Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar with ballistic missiles, destroying a fighter aircraft maintenance centre and a command-and-control facility.
US forces struck around 140 Iranian military targets using precision-guided munitions launched from fighter aircraft operating from land and sea bases, drones and warships.
The targets included Iranian missile and drone facilities, naval capabilities, ammunition storage sites, communications networks and coastal surveillance installations.
Over three nights of strikes this week, CENTCOM said it had hit more than 300 targets on the orders of the US Commander-in-Chief, aiming to reduce Iran’s ability to attack sailors and commercial vessels passing freely through the Strait.
CENTCOM stressed that commercial shipping through the vital international maritime corridor was continuing.
“Since early May, US forces have helped facilitate the successful passage of more than 800 commercial vessels and 400 million barrels of oil through the Strait of Hormuz,” the statement said.
Iran closes Strait of Hormuz “until further notice”
Tehran earlier announced that it was closing the Strait of Hormuz “until further notice” or, as Iranian state media reported, “until US interference in the region ends”.
The IRGC warned that any US “aggressive action” following the closure would prompt a “harsh response”, while threatening to target additional American bases across the wider region.
It also claimed to have fired warning shots at another vessel it described as being in violation of Iranian rules, alleging that it had switched off its tracking systems and deviated from a route approved by Tehran.
Immediate US response
Despite Tehran’s threats, the United States launched another series of strikes against Iran.
CENTCOM said it had conducted the “third round of attacks this week” following what it described as an “unprovoked attack by Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces against the M/V GFS Galaxy, a Cyprus-flagged container ship sailing through the Strait of Hormuz”.
According to CENTCOM, one crew member remains missing, while the vessel is unable to continue its journey because of a fire and significant damage to its engine room.
“A bad choice”
“Iran was once again given the opportunity to demonstrate that it was complying with the Memorandum of Understanding, after already being held accountable for previous attacks against commercial ships, but it failed again,” CENTCOM said in a statement posted on X.
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said Iran had made “a bad choice” by opening fire on a commercial vessel in the Strait of Hormuz and was now “paying the price”.
Iranian media reported that explosions were heard at several locations in southern Iran, including Bandar Abbas, Sirik, Bushehr, Chabahar and Qeshm Island.
Source: skai.gr
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