The United States resumed strikes on Iran Tuesday following a series of hits from Tehran on commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz.
US Central Command announced the new strikes as an uneasy ceasefire continued to deteriorate between the two nations.
‘Forces have begun launching a series of powerful strikes against Iran to impose heavy costs for targeting and attacking commercial shipping crewed by innocent civilians in an international waterway,’ they said in a statement.
‘The US strikes are in response to Iranian attacks on three commercial vessels that were transiting the Strait of Hormuz. Iran’s demonstrated aggression was unwarranted, dangerous, and a clear violation of the ceasefire.
The American military strikes against Iran are expected to go on for hours and strike a variety of military sites and port facilities, US officials said.
One official told CNN that ‘this is punishment’ and that the strikes ‘won’t be over for a bit.’
Another said the military is targeting Iranian air defense systems, coastal surveillance systems, ground-to-air missiles as well as launch sites for anti-ship cruise missiles and drones as part of the strikes.
Iranian port facilities are also being targeted, the official added.
The United States resumed strikes on Iran Tuesday following a series of hits from Tehran on commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz
It comes after a liquefied natural gas tanker caught fire after being struck by a projectile while transiting the Strait of Hormuz off the coast of Oman early Tuesday (file photo)
The second official said the strikes would likely last for hours.
Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing military operation.
Meanwhile, the Iranian foreign ministry accused the United States of violating the two countries’ memorandum of understanding and said they have repeatedly violated parts of it.
They said the decision showed ‘bad faith’ and was proof that the Trump administration can’t be trusted and will take ‘any measures’ to defend themselves in a statement obtained by Al Jazeera.
It comes after three tankers were struck by projectiles Tuesday in the Strait of Hormuz, the British military said, and the United States revoked a license that had authorized the sale of Iranian oil as part of an interim deal to end the fighting between the US and Iran.
The new assaults in the fuel-shipping waterway were the most in a single day since late April, according to the UN International Maritime Organization.
The fresh attacks threatened to choke off the flow of traffic in the strait just as countries hoped to restore normal shipping practices and ease the global economic strain of the war.
Hours later, the US revoked the 60-day license issued last month by the Treasury Department that waived sanctions on Iranian oil.
US Central Command announced the new strikes as an uneasy ceasefire continued to deteriorate between the two nations
A US official said the license was revoked because Iran’s actions in the strait were unacceptable and needed to be met with consequences.
The Iranian mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
One tanker was traveling off the coast of Oman when it was hit and caught fire, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said.
Iranian state television said the liquefied natural gas tanker came under attack after ignoring warnings but did not directly claim the assault.
The other two ships sustained some damage, but no one was injured, and both continued on their way, the UK maritime agency said.
Tehran, which has repeatedly declared that only its approved route through the strait is safe, is suspected of attacking other ships that have used another route close to the Omani shore.
Location details provided by the UK agency showed that all three attacks occurred off the coast of Oman or the neighboring United Arab Emirates, making it likely that the ships were using the route near Oman.
The US is eager to press ahead with negotiations with Iran aimed at fully reopening the strait, rolling back Tehran’s disputed nuclear program and reaching a permanent end to the war launched February 28. An interim deal has been strained.
A satellite image shows a group of small boats near the Strait of Hormuz
Mourners attend the funeral procession of the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran, Iran on Monday
Previous attacks in the strait have sparked retaliatory strikes by the U.S. Iran then attacked Gulf Arab states.
In peacetime, a fifth of all traded oil and natural gas passed through the channel.
The license issued by the U.S. authorized the production, delivery and sale of Iranian oil through August 21.
US Vice President JD Vance said at the time that lengthy talks with senior Iranian officials in Switzerland created a ‘good foundation for a successful final deal’ to end the war.
US sanctions on the purchase of Iranian oil had been in place since the 1979 Iranian Revolution.
After the US and Israel launched the war, and after the closure of the strait, the US had authorized the temporary sale of Iranian oil at least twice as an incentive toward a deal.
Meanwhile, talks between Iran and the US appeared to be on hold until after the burial of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed at the beginning of the war.
