Strikes launched against Iran
US renews attacks after three ships hit in Strait of Hormuz
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The U.S. military launched new strikes against Iran early Wednesday, hours after three merchant ships were struck in the Strait of Hormuz, in the latest exchange of fire to threaten the interim deal to end the fighting between the two countries.
The strikes were expected to hit a variety of military sites and port facilities, U.S. officials said.
The renewed attacks were sure to add to the difficulty of the negotiations aimed at fully reopening the strait, rolling back Tehran's disputed nuclear program and reaching a permanent end to the war launched Feb. 28.
In a statement posted to social media, U.S. Central Command said American forces launched the strikes "to impose heavy costs for targeting and attacking commercial shipping crewed by innocent civilians in an international waterway."
One U.S. official said the military is targeting Iranian air defense systems, coastal surveillance systems, ground-to-air missiles as well as launch sites for anti-ship cruise missiles and drones. Iranian port facilities are also being targeted, that official added.
The second official said the strikes would likely last for hours.
Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing military operation.
Iranian state media reported the sound of explosions in Qeshm and Bandar Abbas.
A similar spate of Iranian attacks on shipping and U.S. retaliation occurred late last month, while the new strikes were notable for happening while President Donald Trump was in Turkey for a summit of the NATO military alliance.
Hours after the three tankers were struck by projectiles, the United States revoked a license that had authorized the sale of Iranian oil as part of the interim deal to end the fighting between the U.S. and Iran.
The new assaults in the fuel-shipping waterway were the most in a single day since late April, according to the U.N. International Maritime Organization. The fresh attacks threatened to choke off the flow of traffic in the strait just as countries hoped to restore normal shipping practices and ease the global economic strain of the war.
A U.S. official said the license was revoked because Iran's actions in the strait were unacceptable and needed to be met with consequences. The official spoke with The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity to share insight into the reasoning behind the move.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry condemned the U.S. move to revoke the license, saying in a statement that it violates the interim deal and that "the U.S. government bears responsibility for the consequences of this breach of commitment."
Iran's deputy foreign minister, Kazem Gharibabadi, also said in a post on X that the new attacks by the U.S. are a violation of that agreement.
One tanker was traveling off the coast of Oman when it was hit and caught fire, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said. Iranian state television said the liquefied natural gas tanker came under attack after ignoring warnings but did not directly claim the assault.
The other two ships sustained some damage, but no one was injured, and both continued on their way, the U.K. maritime agency said.