US Completes New Strikes on Iran as Naval Blockade Resumes

U.S. forces struck coastal defense systems and cruise missile storage and launch sites on Greater Tunb Island in a 90-minute wave that ended at 7:30 a.m. ET Wednesday, U.S. Central Command said.

The morning strikes began at 6 a.m. ET and followed a seven-hour overnight wave that ended at 10 p.m. ET Tuesday and hit dozens of military targets near the Strait of Hormuz and along Iran’s coast, according to CENTCOM.

Fighter aircraft, drones, and naval vessels fired precision munitions at Iranian missile and drone sites, naval capabilities, and coastal defense systems during Tuesday’s wave, the command said. Both rounds aimed to weaken the weapons Iran has used against commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz, according to the command.

The strikes followed the renewal of a U.S. naval blockade at 4 p.m. ET Tuesday against vessels traveling to or from Iranian ports and coastal areas. More than 20 U.S. Navy warships and hundreds of military aircraft are operating throughout the Middle East, CENTCOM said.

Iran has “intentionally targeted civilians” across the region over the past seven days, Adm. Brad Cooper, the CENTCOM commander, said Tuesday. He said Iranian attacks on seven commercial ships killed, wounded, or left missing nearly a dozen civilian crew members and that Iranian forces fired dozens of missiles and drones toward neighboring Gulf countries.

U.S. forces are holding Iran accountable for unwarranted aggression that continues to endanger innocent lives. — Adm. Brad Cooper, CENTCOM commander