U.S. launches new strikes on Iran after attacks on commercial ships

The U.S. military has begun launching a new series of strikes against Iran after Iranian forces attacked three commercial vessels near the Strait of Hormuz, according to U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM).

“U.S. Central Command 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,” CENTCOM said in a statement Tuesday.

“The U.S. strikes are in response to Iranian attacks on three commercial vessels that were transiting the Strait of Hormuz,” it added. “Iran’s demonstrated aggression was unwarranted, dangerous, and a clear violation of the ceasefire.”

Explosions have been reported in Bandar Abbas, a major Iranian port city on the Strait of Hormuz, and on Qeshm Island, an Iranian island in the same waterway. Details about the targets, damage or casualties were not immediately available.

CNN, citing a U.S. official, reported earlier that Iran fired on three commercial vessels in Oman’s territorial waters near the Strait of Hormuz. The official described the attacks as a gross violation of the memorandum of understanding with Iran.

One of the vessels was the Qatari-flagged al-Rakiyat, a liquefied natural gas tanker, which Qatar’s Foreign Ministry said was passing near the waterway when it was hit. The UK Maritime Trade Operations center (UKMTO) said an attack was reported at 9:19 p.m. UTC Monday, or 1:19 a.m. Tuesday in the Persian Gulf.

Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Ministry said Iran also attacked one of its tankers, the crude oil carrier Wedyan, while it was passing through the Strait of Hormuz. Iran’s semi-official Fars News Agency, citing unidentified sources, earlier claimed that a Qatari tanker was attacked after ignoring repeated warnings.

The strikes followed another round of U.S. attacks last week, after a drone hit the M/V Ever Lovely, a Singapore-flagged cargo ship that was exiting the Strait of Hormuz along the Omani coast. CENTCOM said at the time that Iran had been given a chance to honor the ceasefire but chose not to.

The latest escalation came as President Donald Trump is attending a high-stakes NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, where leaders are expected to discuss security in the Strait of Hormuz, according to CNN.