US launches fresh strikes on Iran; CENTCOM says attacks target military capabilities in Strait of Hormuz
Washington, July 21 (IANS/WISHAVWARTA) The US military has launched a new round of strikes against Iran, according to the US Central Command (CENTCOM), as tensions between the two countries continue to escalate.
In a post on X, CENTCOM said: “Today at 4 p.m. ET, U.S. forces began a new round of strikes against Iran at the Commander in Chief’s direction. The strikes are designed to further degrade Iranian military capabilities used to attack commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.”
Earlier, CENTCOM said US naval and air assets were continuing operations in the Arabian Sea as part of its campaign to enforce what it described as a naval blockade against Iran and restrict maritime traffic to and from Iranian ports.
“U.S. service members aboard amphibious assault ship USS Boxer (LHD 4) support flight operations day and night from the Arabian Sea as CENTCOM enforces the naval blockade against Iran. As of July 20, the U.S. military has redirected 7 commercial vessels and disabled 1 to prevent the ships from leaving or entering Iranian ports,” CENTCOM posted on X.
Earlier on Monday, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said that its forces launched retaliatory missile and drone strikes against US assets and facilities in Jordan and Kuwait.
In statements published on its official news outlet Sepah News, the IRGC said it struck with ballistic missiles the US Boeing C-17 Globemaster III and Boeing P-8 Poseidon aircraft at an airport in Jordan’s port city of Aqaba, and heavily damaged a number of them.
It added that its forces attacked with drones and destroyed an American early warning radar system in Kuwait, and targeted a warehouse of equipment and aircraft parts as well as a hangar of MQ-9 Reaper drones at the Ali Al Salem Air Base, setting on fire a number of the Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs).
The IRGC said the attacks were in retaliation to the US’ frequent “aggressions” against Iran’s territory, Xinhua News Agency reported.
In a post on social media platform X early Monday, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said its forces had “successfully completed the ninth consecutive evening of strikes against Iran.”
It added, “CENTCOM assets targeted Iranian military command centres, air defence and coastal surveillance sites, maritime capabilities, missile and drone launch sites, and communications networks to further diminish Iran’s ability to attack commercial vessels and civilian mariners transiting the Strait of Hormuz.”
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