Centcom Announces US Forces Launch New Strikes on Iran

The United States Central Command (Centcom) has officially announced the launch of a new series of air strikes targeting Iranian territory on Sunday (19/7) local time. The move marks the total collapse of a peace deal previously brokered between the two nations. “Today at 6 p.m. ET [Sunday local time], US forces began launching new air strikes against Iran under the direction of the Commander-in-Chief,” read an official Centcom statement posted on the social media platform X. According to the official US military release, the large-scale air operation is designed to weaken Iran’s military capabilities, which are deemed to threaten the security of commercial shipping and merchant vessels in the Strait of Hormuz. “These strikes are designed to further degrade Iran’s ability to threaten commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and to swiftly punish Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces that launched attacks against American military personnel in Jordan last night,” the statement added. This new tension represents a nadir following diplomatic efforts that had yielded results several months ago. The US military has conducted several strikes against Iran since 8 July. CENTCOM claims the strikes are in retaliation for Iranian actions against merchant ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz. Iran’s military retaliated by attacking US bases in several Middle Eastern countries. Tehran also accused Washington of violating the ceasefire agreement. On 9 July, US President Donald Trump declared the ceasefire was no longer in effect.