US Claims Destruction of Iranian Military Infrastructure as Retaliatory Strikes Continue
The United States military has claimed it struck around 140 targets in Iran during the third round of operations this week. Washington described the action as a response to an attack on a Cypriot-flagged vessel transiting the Strait of Hormuz, which it said violated Iranian shipping regulations.
US Central Command (CENTCOM) stated the latest operation had been completed and was intended to hold Iranian forces accountable for the assault on the commercial ship. Targets included Iranian missile and drone sites, naval capabilities, ammunition storage facilities, communications networks, and coastal surveillance positions, according to a CENTCOM statement reported by Al Jazeera.
CENTCOM said more than 300 targets had been struck over three consecutive nights in the past week to diminish Iran’s ability to attack commercial vessels and civilian mariners navigating the Strait of Hormuz. Al Jazeera also reported that CENTCOM claimed to have assisted over 800 commercial ships, including those carrying approximately 400 million barrels of oil, in transiting the strait since early May.
In a separate statement, CENTCOM said the latest strikes were launched on Sunday at 23:10 GMT, or 02:45 Tehran time, under the direction of President Donald Trump. The statement added that the US was inflicting significant damage by continuing to weaken Iran’s capacity to target civilian sailors and commercial ships freely navigating the strait, following what it described as an overt attack by Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces on a Cypriot-flagged container ship.
US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth commented on the developments, saying, “Iran made a bad choice. Now they are paying the price.”
Meanwhile, Iran reported striking military sites in Gulf states it accused of assisting US military operations. Qatar, Bahrain, and Kuwait were among the countries said to have been affected on Sunday. Tehran criticised several Arab nations in the Gulf region for allegedly providing support to the United States in its operations against Iran. However, the Iranian government stressed that its attacks were not aimed at civilians or civilian areas in those countries, but rather at the sources of attacks it claimed were being used to strike Iranian territory.
Iran also stated that at least seven cities across various regions of the country were targeted by US strikes on Sunday. Heavy explosions were reported to have caused power outages in the city of Chabahar. The Secretary-General of NATO said allied countries also intended to reaffirm at an upcoming summit that Iran must never be allowed to acquire a nuclear weapons capability. A series of blasts rocked the Strait of Hormuz area after the US launched the air strikes, with Iran issuing a serious warning and threatening retaliation against US actions.