Dubai: The United States launched several waves of strikes on Iran on Sunday over an Iranian attack on a container ship in the Strait of Hormuz that set it ablaze and left a crew member missing earlier in the weekend. Iran responded with attacks on Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Jordan and Oman — the nation on the other side of the strait that Tehran has pressed to collaborate in managing shipping traffic.
The US military said it was seeking "to degrade" Iran's "ability to attack commercial ships freely transiting" the critical strait. The statement came after a third round of strikes late Sunday night and into Monday in Iran.
At 5 p.m. ET today, U.S. Central Command forces began launching more strikes against Iran to continue degrading their ability to attack civilian mariners and commercial ships freely transiting the Strait of Hormuz. The Commander in Chief has directed the strikes to hold Iranian…
Iranian state media acknowledged the latest round early Monday but reported no casualties or damage to civilian infrastructure in the areas near the strait. It was not immediately clear whether any military targets had been hit.
The first wave of strikes on Sunday morning came in response to an Iranian attack on a container ship in the critical waterway the previous day. Iran then targeted Gulf Arab states in an escalating cycle of violence that pushed negotiations between Tehran and Washington to end the war to the brink of collapse.
The US struck again later on Sunday. The governor of Qeshm Island near the strait told Iran's state-run IRNA news agency that projectiles were fired at military targets, with no casualties. Explosions were also heard in the coastal city of Bandar Abbas and Hajiabad to the north.
A US official said several strikes targeted missile and air defence systems, as well as boats operated by Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to publicly discuss military operations.
Iran and the US are nearly at the midway point of the 60-day period under their interim agreement aimed at reaching a permanent end to the war. The Strait of Hormuz, a key route for the global supply of oil and natural gas and long considered an international waterway, has become a sticking point in negotiations that now appear in danger of collapsing.
"A return to full-scale hostilities would have catastrophic consequences," United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said in a statement.
Iran maintains that the Strait of Hormuz is closed, while the US disputes that claim.