The US military resumed airstrikes against Iran with the CENTCOM stating that it launched a “heavy wave” of attacks against Iran’s paramilitary IRGC targets, days after President Donald Trump paused the campaign in order to allow the two countries to reach a diplomatic resolution.
The operation marked the first wave of strikes since Trump suspended the bombing campaign on Friday following 13 consecutive nights of operations against Iranian military targets.
According to CENTCOM, the operation was carried out in response to Tuesday’s Iranian missile attack on a US military base in Jordan. The US military said all of the incoming ballistic missiles were successfully intercepted and no American casualties were reported.
In a statement, CENTCOM said that US forces struck dozens of IRGC targets across Iran, including military command centres, missile and drone facilities, coastal surveillance and air defence sites, as well as maritime capabilities.
“The strikes aimed to further diminish threats posed by Iran and its proxies to American forces, commercial shipping, and neighbouring Gulf countries,” CENTCOM said.
Earlier on Wednesday, Trump had declared that military action was imminent, vowing to “beat the f****** s***” out of Tehan for its attack on Jordan.
“It’s our turn,” the president told reporters, saying that Washington would strike Iran “very hard” later in the day.
Furthermore, Trump claimed that Iranian officials had acknowledged the missile attack was a mistake and had asked Washington not to retaliate, though officials from the Islamic Republic have yet to comment publicly on the matter.
According to CENTCOM, more than 50,000 US service members remain deployed across West Asia.
“More than 50,000 U.S. service members are currently deployed to the Middle East and remain highly vigilant, focused, lethal, and ready,” CENTCOM added and released video footage of the latest strikes.
