US launches fresh strikes on Iranian weapons and boats near Hormuz, Axios reports
Meanwhile, Iran reported that the missiles launched by the ‘enemy’ targeted Qeshm Island, but there was no loss of life in the attack, according to the news of the state news agency IRNA, based on the governor of the island close to the strait.
The developments mark the latest increase in attacks around the strategic waterway, which carries a significant portion of global oil shipments.
Iran says Hormuz is closed, US disagrees
As both sides intensify military operations in the Middle East region, Washington and Tehran have previously made conflicting claims regarding the status of the Strait of Hormuz.
The US army’s Central Command (CENTCOM) stated that it hit approximately 140 targets, including missile and unmanned aerial vehicle launch sites, ammunition depots and communication equipment, and said that the aim of the attacks was to weaken Iran’s ability to threaten commercial shipping.
“We bombed them bad last night,” US President Donald Trump told NBC’s Meet the Press, according to the AP.
Iranian news agencies reported that a navy officer was killed in the attacks. Tehran responded by launching attacks on countries hosting US military forces in the region and reiterated that it must control the Strait of Hormuz alone and could attack ships passing through it. “The era of unilateral agreements is over. We told you: Keep your word or pay the price. The truth is knocking on the door,” Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, speaker of the Iranian Parliament and one of the key negotiators, wrote in X.
The United States launched more than three rounds of air strikes last week following Iranian attacks on ships passing through Hormuz off the coast of Oman to avoid Iranian territorial waters.
Trump and CENTCOM argued on Sunday that the key waterway would remain open to commercial traffic, while Iran said the waterway would remain closed until stability was achieved. Tehran also warned that “additional enemy bases in the region” could be targeted if further attacks were carried out.
