US and Iran trade new strikes as tanker fires reported in Hormuz
CENTCOM said it hit Iranian military sites, while Iran’s IRGC claimed attacks on US assets in Bahrain and Kuwait and fires on two tankers.
By Daniel Okafor · Business Editor
3 min read
The United States struck Iran for a 10th straight night early Tuesday, widening a military campaign that has drawn Iranian retaliation across the Gulf. The latest exchanges matter because they include reported attacks near the Strait of Hormuz, a key oil and gas shipping route, and Iranian claims of fires on two tankers.
US Central Command said it completed a new round of strikes against Iran at 01:00 GMT Tuesday. CENTCOM said the targets included Iranian military command sites, maritime capabilities, missile and drone launch locations, and air defence systems.
Al Jazeera’s Tohid Assidi, reporting from Tehran, said explosions were reported on Qeshm Island, the largest island in the Strait of Hormuz, and in the port cities of Bandar Abbas and Bandar Lengeh. Iran’s IRIB state broadcaster said explosions were heard in Shiraz at about 1am local time Tuesday, adding that sites in the east and west of the city had been attacked.
IRIB also reported a denial from the deputy governor of Isfahan province, who said there had been no enemy attack or explosions in Isfahan city or the wider province. That denial followed an earlier report by the semi-official Mehr news agency.
The governor of Bushehr told IRIB that explosion sounds in the province were linked to air defence activity. Mehr also reported several explosions in Abdanan in western Ilam province, citing Abdanan Governor Behzad Nourmohammadi.
Iran claims strikes on Gulf targets
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said Tuesday it had attacked US military assets in Bahrain and Kuwait. The claims were carried by Iranian state and semi-official media, and there was no independent confirmation in the report.
In Bahrain, the IRGC said it destroyed a US air defence system and radar in the Muharraq area. In a statement carried by IRIB, the IRGC also said a combined missile and drone attack destroyed a US Patriot air defence system in Al-Riffa.
The IRGC said those strikes were meant to open the way for further operations. In a separate statement carried by the semi-official Tasnim news agency, the IRGC claimed its aerospace force had used cruise missiles to destroy Amazon’s central data infrastructure.
In Kuwait, the IRGC said it hit several US military assets. Tasnim carried an IRGC statement saying the targets included a long-range radar site, a telecommunications centre, satellite receiving systems and a US missile defence radar. The IRGC also claimed it struck an MQ-9 drone hangar at Ali Al Salem airbase, destroying or badly damaging several unmanned aircraft.
Tanker fires reported in Strait of Hormuz
The IRGC said Tuesday that “massive fires” had broken out on two oil tankers after an explosion as the vessels tried to pass through what it called an unsafe southern route in the Strait of Hormuz. IRIB carried the IRGC statement saying rescue teams were evacuating crews from the ships.
The IRGC again warned shipping companies not to rely on what it called false information from the US military and to avoid routes it described as dangerous. It said the Strait of Hormuz would remain closed as long as US actions continued in the region, and claimed oil, gas and chemical fertiliser exports would be blocked.
Al Jazeera’s Kimberly Halkett, reporting from Washington, said the White House told Al Jazeera that US strikes would continue until the president decides otherwise. The White House also said diplomatic talks between Washington and Tehran are continuing, according to Al Jazeera.
This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.