The US Central Command (CENTCOM) has said that its forces launched a new round of strikes against Iran.
"At 5 p.m. ET today, U.S. Central Command forces began launching more strikes against Iran to continue degrading their ability to attack civilian mariners and commercial ships freely transiting the Strait of Hormuz," CENTCOM said on the US social media platform X.
The command added that the operation was carried out under the direction of President Donald Trump "to hold Iranian forces accountable."
CENTCOM added that it used fighter jets, ships, aerial drones and naval drones for the first time.
“The Strait of Hormuz is a vital maritime corridor for global trade,” Central Command said. “Iran does not control it.”
It added, “U.S. forces are postured and prepared to ensure that freedom of navigation remains available to commercial shipping despite Iran’s continued unwarranted aggression, harassment, threats and arbitrary declarations.”
One person was killed, and four others were injured in one of the strikes that targeted an agricultural water pumping station in Iran’s southwestern Khuzestan province early Monday, according to a provincial official.
Khuzestan Deputy Governor Valiollah Hayati said the strike hit the facility in Mahshahr County, killing a security guard working at the station and wounding four others, the semi-official Mehr News Agency reported.
He said the injured were receiving medical treatment, without providing further details on the extent of their injuries.
The latest flare-up follows Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) saying overnight that the Strait of Hormuz was once again considered closed following US military action.
The IRGC said two vessels that chose the southern route near Oman, rather than Iran’s designated northern passage, were struck.
Iran also said it had targeted US interests across the region, including in Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan, Qatar and Oman, in retaliation for US strikes.
Continued military exchanges
The latest escalation has further reduced prospects for a diplomatic breakthrough, with talks appearing increasingly difficult amid continued military exchanges.
US Central Command said more than 300 military targets were hit across three waves of strikes, including coastal surveillance systems, logistics facilities, communications networks, missile sites, drone capabilities and naval assets. Washington has said it has not targeted civilian infrastructure.
The strikes have focused heavily on Iran’s southern Hormozgan province, including the strategic port city of Bandar Abbas, as well as Siri, Qeshm Island and Jask, areas overlooking the Strait of Hormuz.
Tehran said port facilities, fishing infrastructure, coastal control sites and air defences were among the targets hit, with reports of military and civilian casualties.
US strikes also hit locations in Bushehr province, with one attack landing near the perimeter of Iran’s only nuclear power plant.
Iranian officials said the facility itself was not damaged.
