US launches more strikes after Tehran declares Strait of Hormuz closed
Iran hits commercial ship transiting the waterway, with Centcom saying crew member is missing from vessel
The US hit Iran with its third round of strikes this week, after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps struck a commercial ship transiting the Strait of Hormuz and declared the vital waterway closed.
American forces struck after the IRGC “blatantly attacked” the M/V GFS Galaxy, a Cyprus-flagged container ship, US Central Command said on Saturday.
Centcom said the US military hit roughly 140 Iranian targets launched from fighter jets, drones and warships, in the most intense set of strikes this week. Targets included “Iranian missile and drone sites, naval capabilities, ammunition storage facilities, communication networks and coastal surveillance locations”, Centcom said once the attacks were completed on Saturday.
The US attacks came after the IRGC’s naval forces announced on Saturday that the strait was “closed until further notice and until the end of US interference in the region, and no vessel would be permitted to transit”.
The Revolutionary Guards said the decision followed an incident in which several vessels, “encouraged by foreign actors”, attempted to transit via an “unauthorised route” and ignored warnings to proceed along the approved passage.
“As a result, one of the vessels — which had switched off its onboard systems, thereby endangering maritime safety — was struck by a warning shot and brought to a halt,” the statement said. The UK’s Maritime Trade Operations said it had received a report of an incident nine nautical miles east of Oman.
Iran appeared to be retaliating against the US strikes, with the United Arab Emirates’ ministry of defence saying the country’s air defences were “engaging with missile attacks and incoming drones from Iran”.
Bahrain’s interior ministry said that its missile alert siren had been activated.
Iran’s conventional army confirmed that it had used drones to target a Patriot missile system, an ammunition depot and a radar site belonging to the US in Kuwait. It also targeted a US communications system and a radar site in Bahrain.
The IRGC said in a statement that a second “offending” vessel in the Strait of Hormuz had been struck and brought to a halt, without providing further details. It added that, in the second phase of its retaliatory operation, its forces targeted the US Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar with ballistic missiles.
In another statement, the IRGC said the US had carried out air strikes against several coastal bases and communications towers along Iran’s southern coastline. The force confirmed it had struck Jordan’s Prince Hassan Air Base, “destroying the base’s command-and-control centre and MQ-9 drone hangars with several ballistic missiles”. It added that “any continuation of aggression by the treacherous US will be met with even more severe responses”.
Local officials in southern Iran said the cities of Bushehr, Asaluyeh and Dayyer had come under attack, adding that there had been no reports of injuries or fatalities. State media said explosions were heard in the port city of Bandar Abbas and in the city of Sirik.
The IRGC also said on Sunday they had struck and destroyed the logistical support centres for warships and the refuelling platforms serving US aircraft carriers at Oman’s Port of Duqm “in a heavy and surprise attack”. Centcom did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the IRGC’s claims.
The IRGC’s attack on the Galaxy came a day after top US officials issued a fresh demand for Tehran to declare publicly that it would halt attacks in the Strait of Hormuz.
Centcom said that a civilian crew member from the Galaxy was missing, adding that there was a fire and the ship’s engine room had sustained significant damage.
Washington’s military action this week was in response to Tehran’s attacks on commercial ships that were attempting to transit the strait.
“Iran was provided yet another opportunity to demonstrate adherence to the Memorandum of Understanding after being held accountable for earlier attacks on commercial vessels but has again failed,” said Centcom, referring to the agreement signed by the US and Iran almost a month ago to extend a ceasefire by 60 days. Tehran had agreed to reopen the waterway after the MOU was signed.
“In response, the United States is imposing a heavy cost by continuing to degrade Iran’s ability to attack civilian mariners and commercial ships freely transiting the strait,” Centcom added. President Donald Trump ordered the strikes, the command said.
Iran’s chief negotiator with the US, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, on Sunday posted on X: “The era of one-sided deals is OVER. We told you: keep your word or pay the price. Reality is knocking.” He highlighted one of the clauses of the agreement, which stated that “the Islamic republic of Iran will make arrangements” for the safe passage of vessels.
The US hit more than 160 targets on Tuesday and Wednesday, before pivoting back towards attempting negotiations with Iran. On Saturday Centcom said it had hit more than 300 Iranian targets across the three days of strikes.
Trump said on Friday that the US had agreed to continue talks with Tehran, but reiterated “in no uncertain terms” for Washington “the Cease Fire is OVER!”
Senior US officials told reporters on Friday that the talks could advance if Tehran issued a public statement pledging to stop any attacks on vessels in the strategic waterway.
“We are hoping to get to a place where they publicly say that they will stop shooting at ships,” one senior US official said.
Since the US and Iran signed the agreement, Iranian forces have attacked a number of vessels, including tankers belonging to Saudi Arabia and Qatar. The US has retaliated by launching air strikes on southern Iran, as both sides accuse the other of violating the ceasefire.
Iran has insisted that vessels use shipping lanes close to its shoreline as it seeks to maintain a degree of control of the strait, a chokepoint through which about a fifth of the world’s oil and gas previously passed, and which has become a key source of leverage. But the US has encouraged vessels to transit near the coast of Oman, whose territorial waters flow through the waterway.
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