The U.S. military has confirmed the launch and completion of a series of offensive strikes on Iran, hitting more than 80 targets.
According to U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), the “new round” of attacks came as an “immediate response” to the Islamic Republic’s most recent attack on commercial ships traversing the Strait of Hormuz.
The three commercial vessels attacked by Iran were a Marshall Islands-flagged ship, a Saudi Arabia-flagged ship, and a Liberian-flagged ship.
CENTCOM asserted that Iran’s “unwarranted aggression” not only “undermines freedom of navigation,” but it also constitutes a violation of the current ceasefire between the U.S. and Tehran.
In response, “U.S. forces struck Iranian air defense systems, command and control networks, coastal radar sites, anti-ship missile capabilities, and more than 60 Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps [(IRGC)] small boats in and near the” waterway.
The attacks were conducted to deter Tehran’s capabilities to continue obstructing international trade moving through “the international trade corridor,” CENTCOM affirmed.
U.S. Revokes Iran's License To Sell Oil
According to an anonymous U.S. official who spoke with The Associated Press, the U.S. has also revoked a license that authorized the sale of Iranian crude in response to the Islamic Republic’s attack. The license was part of the interim peace agreement.
Iran Promises "Crushing Response"
“The Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran will deliver a crushing response to the US aggression and terrorist action,” Iran’s top joint military command, Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, said, according to Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB).
Parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf also issued a response, listing major violations of the interim peace deal carried out by the U.S.
Qalibaf accused the U.S. of “violating Iranian adjustments in the Strait [of Hormuz], persistent threats of further strikes, reinstating oil sanctions, attacks on southern Iran, [and] continued Zionist aggression on [Lebanon].”
“The era of bullying and extortion is over. It leads nowhere. We don’t fold,” the parliament speaker concluded.
