US announces new Iran strikes as Hormuz closure deepens crisis
CENTCOM said it launched a third strike round after an alleged IRGC attack on a ship, while Iran said the Strait of Hormuz was closed.
By Sofia Marchetti · World Affairs Correspondent
3 min read
The US military said it began a third round of strikes on Iran after accusing the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of attacking a commercial ship in the Strait of Hormuz. The announcement raised pressure around one of the world’s most sensitive shipping lanes after the IRGC said the waterway was closed until further notice.
US Central Command said the latest action followed what it described as an IRGC attack on a Cyprus-flagged container ship in the strait. CENTCOM said the vessel suffered a fire and engine damage that prevented it from continuing its voyage, and said one crew member was missing.
CENTCOM said Iran had been given another chance to comply with a June 16 memorandum of understanding after earlier attacks on commercial vessels. The command said the new strikes were intended to reduce Iran’s ability to target civilian mariners and commercial ships using the strait.
Iran’s IRGC said no vessels would be allowed through the Strait of Hormuz until what it called US intervention in the region ends, according to Al Jazeera correspondent Tohid Asadi reporting from Tehran. Asadi reported that the waterway has been the subject of repeated and shifting accounts in recent days, with reports that it had reopened, partially reopened and then closed again.
Iran is seeking a different arrangement for traffic through Hormuz, according to Asadi. Tehran’s position is that control of shipping routes should remain under Iranian authority, in coordination with Oman, rather than under conditions set by outside powers.
Iranian officials are also keeping diplomatic channels open, Asadi reported, citing talks and mediation efforts involving Qatar and other countries. At the same time, Iranian officials have warned that they are prepared to escalate if there are more attacks or violations.
Iran’s IRIB state broadcaster reported that residents heard several explosions in Asaluyeh and Bandar Deyr in southern Iran. IRIB did not provide further details in the report cited by Al Jazeera, and no link between those explosions and the US strike announcement was established in the available information.
Regional developments
Al Jazeera reported that the IRGC had earlier declared the Strait of Hormuz temporarily closed after firing a warning shot at a ship it said was trying to pass through an unapproved route. The report also said Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met Oman’s foreign minister, Badr al-Busaidi, while sources said Muscat proposed separate routes through Iranian and Omani waters.
Al Jazeera also reported that Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei pledged to avenge the killing of his father, Ali Khamenei, by US and Israeli forces. US President Donald Trump, according to Al Jazeera, threatened to destroy areas of Iran if Iranians attempt to assassinate him.
The same Al Jazeera update said Israeli forces continued attacks in southern Lebanon, wounding seven people in Al Mansouri in the Tyre district, and that another round of direct talks with Israel was scheduled in Rome. It also reported that Israeli forces killed one Palestinian and wounded several others in a drone attack on the Wadi Gaza bridge.
This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.