The United States launched a series of strikes on Iran in response to Tehran’s alleged attacks on three commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said Tuesday night.
Iran swiftly condemned the operation, with its Foreign Ministry describing the US strikes as a serious violation of paragraphs 1 and 2 of the memorandum of understanding, Press TV reported on Wednesday.
“U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) forces completed a new round of offensive strikes against Iran, July 7, hitting over 80 targets with precision munitions as an immediate response to Iran’s latest attacks on commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz,” the command said in a statement on Tuesday night.
US forces reportedly struck Iranian air defence systems, command and control facilities, coastal radar stations, surface-to-air missiles, anti-ship missile systems, drone launch sites, and more than 60 small boats of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in and near the Strait of Hormuz to weaken Iran’s ability to attack merchant vessels in the strait.
A US official also told Axios that these strikes were four or five times more powerful than the latest one carried out 10 days ago.
“Iran recently attacked three commercial vessels transiting the strait including Marshall Islands-flagged M/T Al Rekayyat, Saudi Arabia-flagged M/T Wedyan, and Liberian-flagged M/T Cyprus Prosperity,” the command recalled.
On Tuesday, the Iranian state-run IRIB broadcaster reported that the Qatari vessel Al-Rekayyat tried to get through the waterway via the Oman route with the support of the US Navy, but became the target of the attack after numerous warnings. PBS News reported that three tankers in total had been hit by projectiles in the strait.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry said that US strikes on Iran constitute a serious violation of paragraphs 1 and 2 of the memorandum of understanding, Press TV reported on Wednesday.
The Iranian Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters has promised to give a decisive response to US strikes on southern Iran, Press TV reported on Wednesday.
The command reportedly added that Iran will not allow the United States to interfere in the affairs around the Strait of Hormuz.
