Washington: The United States has launched strikes against Iran for the second day in a row as the ceasefire and tentative peace deal continue to unravel following renewed Iranian aggression in the Strait of Hormuz.
“At the direction of the Commander in Chief, US Central Command forces have begun conducting additional strikes against Iran to further degrade its ability to threaten freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz,” the US military said.
“The United States is holding Iran accountable for recent unjustified aggression against commercial ships and civilian crews freely navigating a vital international waterway.”
The exact targets of Wednesday night’s attacks (Tehran time) were not immediately clear, but they came after attacks the previous night on Iranian air defense systems, missile stockpiles, surveillance systems and drone launch sites.
The United States and Gulf states accused Iran of attacking three ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz, including a Qatari liquefied natural gas tanker and a Saudi-flagged crude oil tanker. Iran denied responsibility.
But after the initial US response, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it had attacked US bases in Kuwait and Bahrain.
The renewed violence represents the biggest threat to an already fragile ceasefire since the U.S.-Iran Memorandum of Understanding was signed in mid-June.
US President Donald Trump, speaking at the NATO summit in Ankara, had anticipated that Turkey could launch more attacks against Iran following its attempt to attack US bases.
More to come
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Michael Koziol is North America correspondent for The Age and Sydney Morning Herald. He is a former Sydney editor, deputy editor of the Sun-Herald and a federal political reporter in Canberra.Connect via unknown either email.
