IBNS-CMEDIA: The US Central Command (CENTCOM) on Monday said it had completed a new wave of offensive strikes against Iran, hitting dozens of targets at multiple locations with precision munitions in an effort to degrade Tehran’s ability to attack international shipping passing through the Strait of Hormuz.
“CENTCOM forces struck Iranian military air-defence systems, coastal radar sites, missile and drone capabilities, and small boats using U.S. fighter aircraft, naval vessels, one-way attack aerial drones, and one-way attack sea drones for the first time,” CENTCOM said in a statement.
“The Strait of Hormuz is a vital maritime corridor for global trade. Iran does not control it,” CENTCOM said, sending a strong message to Tehran.
“U.S. forces are postured and prepared to ensure that freedom of navigation remains available to commercial shipping despite Iran’s continued unwarranted aggression, harassment, threats, and arbitrary declarations,” the statement added.
Meanwhile, in a further escalation of tensions in the region, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it had struck US military bases in Jordan, Bahrain and Kuwait in a multi-phase overnight operation, the MEHR news agency reported.
According to reports, the strikes destroyed fuel depots, ammunition bunkers, Patriot air-defence systems and a drone command centre.
“The retaliatory operations of your zealous sons continue,” the IRGC said in a statement addressed to the Iranian nation.
“The Strait of Hormuz is our territory, and we will not allow an outlaw, child-killing army from the other side of the world to continue its illegal interventions,” it added.
Separately, one person was killed and four others injured after a projectile struck an agricultural water-pumping station in Mahshahr, southern Iran, Iran International reported, citing the official IRNA news agency and a senior official in Khuzestan province.
‘Deeply concerned’
UN Secretary-General António Guterres said he was “deeply concerned by the serious escalation,” urging an end to all attacks.
A statement issued by his Spokesperson called on all combatants “to exercise maximum restraint, avoid further escalatory action and take immediate steps to de‑escalate.”
The Secretary-General reiterated that a return to full-scale hostilities would have catastrophic consequences “for the peoples of the region” and beyond, as well as the global economy.
The uptick in fighting and end to the fragile ceasefire negotiated last month have seen energy prices rise while shipping through the strait between Iran and Oman has once again ground to a halt.
Freedom of navigation call
This leaves around 6,000 seafarers still stranded aboard scores of vessels. The head of the UN International Maritime Organization (IMO) called for all transit through the strait to be avoided, saying earlier this week that this should continue “until the necessary safety conditions are in place.”
UN chief Guterres added that “full freedom of navigation” must be restored in the Strait of Hormuz, where three merchant ships were reportedly struck the previous Tuesday, despite the 17 June Memorandum of Understanding between Tehran and Washington.
“The Secretary-General urges Iran and the United States to urgently resume negotiations and to address outstanding issues through diplomacy,” said UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric.
