US launches new strikes on Iranian military targets

The United States struck multiple targets in Iran for a second consecutive day Saturday, saying the operation was a direct response to an alleged Iranian drone attack on a tanker carrying more than 2 million barrels of crude oil near the Strait of Hormuz.

US Central Command said American forces hit “Iranian military surveillance infrastructure, communication systems, air defense sites, drone storage facilities, and minelayer capabilities” after the Panama-flagged tanker Kiku was struck at about 4:30 a.m. Eastern time while transiting near the strategic waterway.

“CENTCOM forces launched strikes today in direct response to continued Iranian aggression against commercial shipping,” the command said in a statement, adding that the attacks were carried out “at the Commander in Chief’s direction.”

CENTCOM said the Kiku was hit by a “one-way attack drone.” Al Jazeera reported that the vessel was struck by an unidentified projectile, with no crew injuries and no leakage from its cargo. The website MarineTraffic.com showed the tanker had left the Al Shaheen oil field on Thursday and was due to dock at Fujairah, in the United Arab Emirates, on Sunday, Al Jazeera reported.

Explosions were reported in southern Iran around the village of Tahrui, near the port of Sirik, according to Al Jazeera. The area was also the focal point of Friday’s US attacks.

Saturday’s strikes followed a similar sequence a day earlier, when the US launched retaliatory attacks after a drone strike on the M/V Ever Lovely, a Singapore-registered container ship, as it sailed through the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday. No one aboard the Ever Lovely was injured, and the vessel continued its journey, Al Jazeera reported.

US President Donald Trump denounced the strike on the Ever Lovely as a “foolish violation” of a June 17 memorandum of understanding that established a regional Middle East ceasefire, according to Al Jazeera. By Friday evening, the US and Iran had exchanged fire, with the US targeting the area around Sirik and Iran hitting US military installations in the Middle East, the outlet reported.

CENTCOM referred to Friday’s exchange in announcing the renewed strikes.

“After yesterday’s U.S. strikes in response to the Iranian attack on M/V Ever Lovely, Iran was given a chance to honor the ceasefire agreement but elected not to when its forces launched a one-way attack drone that hit M/T Kiku this morning at 4:30 a.m. ET,” CENTCOM said.

The strikes come as the ceasefire appears increasingly fragile. The Guardian reported that disputes have emerged over the terms of Iran’s nuclear program, tolls in the Strait of Hormuz and other issues including Iran’s ballistic missiles program.

CENTCOM said commercial vessel traffic through the Strait of Hormuz was continuing despite the attacks. The command said the US military would keep enforcing the ceasefire and protecting shipping in the area.

“Commercial vessel transits through the Strait of Hormuz continue,” CENTCOM said. “U.S. forces remain vigilant, lethal, and ready.”