U.S. launches new strikes on Iran after drone hits oil tanker near Strait of Hormuz

The U.S. military has carried out a new round of strikes against Iran after an Iranian drone hit an oil tanker carrying more than 2 million barrels of crude near the Strait of Hormuz, according to U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM).

CENTCOM said the latest attack happened at about 4:30 a.m. ET Saturday, when Iranian forces launched a one-way attack drone that struck the M/T Kiku, a Panama-flagged tanker transiting near the Strait of Hormuz.

U.S. military aircraft targeted Iranian military surveillance infrastructure, communication systems, air defense sites, drone storage facilities and minelayer capabilities, according to CENTCOM.

Explosions were reported on Qeshm Island, an Iranian island in the Strait of Hormuz, and in Sirik, a coastal Iranian area on the Gulf of Oman.

The strike came a day after U.S. forces attacked targets in Iran in response to an earlier drone attack on the M/V Ever Lovely, a Singapore-flagged cargo ship that was exiting the Strait of Hormuz along the Omani coast.

CENTCOM said Iran had been given a chance to honor the ceasefire agreement after Friday’s U.S. strikes but “elected not to” when it launched the drone attack on the Kiku.

The earlier strikes on Friday targeted Iranian missile and drone storage locations and coastal radar sites. CENTCOM said the attack violated the ceasefire and threatened freedom of navigation through one of the world’s most important trade routes.