US Launches Powerful Military Strikes Against Iran

The United States has launched a series of powerful military strikes against Iran. The action was taken in response to an attack on three commercial ships in the strategic Strait of Hormuz.

US Central Command (Centcom) announced on Tuesday local time that the operation had commenced. The military stressed the strikes were intended to impose heavy consequences for endangering international shipping lanes.

“To impose a heavy cost for targeting and attacking commercial shipping manned by innocent individuals in international waterways,” Centcom said in a statement.

According to a report from the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), the three tankers sustained damage in the attacks, which occurred over a 24-hour period between Monday and Tuesday.

Prior to the retaliatory strikes, a US government official had warned Iran that it would face serious consequences for its actions. The official strongly condemned the incident, calling the targeting of commercial vessels “completely unacceptable.”

In an official statement on social media platform X, Centcom emphasised that the US military operation was purely “a response to Iran’s attack.”

“The aggression demonstrated by Iran is unjustified, dangerous, and a clear violation of the ceasefire,” Centcom asserted.

As of now, Iran has not issued an official statement or claimed responsibility for the attacks targeting the tankers.

Meanwhile, condemnation has also come from neighbouring Gulf states. Qatar and Saudi Arabia both strongly denounced the incident. Each country confirmed that their respective tankers were among those struck while transiting in or around the Strait of Hormuz area.

As part of diplomatic and economic pressure prior to the military strikes, the US government on Tuesday also revoked a sanctions waiver. The policy had previously temporarily lifted oil sanctions against Iran, but it has now been officially reinstated.