US launches strikes on Iran after attacks on ships in Strait of Hormuz

The US launched strikes against Iran after three commercial ships were attacked in the Strait of Hormuz. Explosions were reported near Iranian ports, while UKMTO confirmed three separate tanker attacks. No casualties were reported, but tensions in the strategically vital waterway have escalated sharply.

Washington: US forces launched strikes against Iran on Tuesday after three commercial ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz were attacked, the US Central Command said.

US forces “have begun launching a series of powerful strikes against Iran to impose heavy costs for targeting and attacking commercial shipping crewed by innocent civilians in an international waterway,” the command said in a post on X.

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“The US strikes are in response to Iranian attacks on three commercial vessels that were transiting the Strait of Hormuz,” said the command.

Explosions were heard near Iran’s Qeshm Island and port cities of Bandar Abbas and Sirik, Xinhua news agency reported quoting Iranian state outlet Press TV.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations on Tuesday reported three separate attacks involving tankers transiting the Strait of Hormuz, with no casualties reported in any of the incidents.

In the first incident, reported to UKMTO at 2119 UTC on Monday, a tanker was hit by an unidentified projectile on the port side, causing a fire, about 8 nautical miles east of Limah, Oman, while travelling southbound.

In the second incident, reported on Tuesday, a tanker was struck by an unidentified projectile and is believed to have sustained structural damage.

In the latest incident, reported to UKMTO at 1305 UTC on Tuesday, another tanker sustained minor structural damage. The vessel, which was hit by a drone, was continuing to its next port of call.

According to sources familiar with the matter, the identities of two of the three vessels have been confirmed: one is a Saudi-flagged crude oil tanker, while the other is a Qatari liquefied natural gas tanker.

Earlier in the day, the Navy of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) targeted two tankers attempting to cross the Strait of Hormuz via a US-backed Omani route on Monday night after they failed to heed warnings, Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency reported on Tuesday.