The United States Central Command (CENTCOM) on Thursday (local time) announced that it had successfully completed another round of strikes against Iranian military targets, marking the 13th consecutive night of operations. Iranian state media reported that at least two people were injured in Bandar Abbas during the latest attacks.
According to a CENTCOM statement, US forces concluded the strikes at 9 p.m. ET on July 23, targeting Iranian military command centres, drone storage facilities, communication networks, coastal surveillance sites and maritime capabilities.
The US military said the operation was aimed at reducing threats posed by Iran to civilian mariners and commercial shipping transiting the Strait of Hormuz.
“CENTCOM targeted Iranian military command centres, drone storage facilities, communication networks, coastal surveillance sites and maritime capabilities to further diminish the threat Iran poses to civilian mariners and commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz,” the statement said.
CENTCOM also stated that the strategic waterway remains open for international shipping despite recent attacks it attributed to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
“The international waterway remains open for transit despite recent attacks from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Commercial vessels continue to freely navigate the strait with U.S. military support,” it added.
Earlier, in a post on X, CENTCOM said US forces had launched “another night of strikes against Iranian military targets” at 6:45 p.m. ET, describing the operation as the “13th consecutive night of strikes aimed to hold Iran accountable and diminish threats from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to commercial shipping.”
The US military also said that more than 50,000 American service members are currently deployed across the Middle East.
Meanwhile, Iranian state broadcaster Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) reported that multiple locations across the country were targeted during the latest wave of US strikes.
Citing the Deputy Governor of Khuzestan, IRIB reported that areas around the city of Ahvaz were struck by what it described as missiles fired by the “US terrorist army.”
The broadcaster also reported explosions in western Bandar Abbas, areas around Omidiyeh, the southern coast of Qeshm, Andimeshk, Konarak, Jask, Firuzabad in Fars province, outside Taft in Yazd province, and south of Khorramabad.
According to IRIB, the Deputy Governor of Hormozgan said two people were injured in the strike on Allah Akbar Hill in Bandar Abbas. The Director General of Crisis Management of Hormozgan Governorate also reported that a power pole was damaged and electricity lines were severed at the site of the attack.
The broadcaster further quoted the Deputy Governor of Central Province as saying that a location outside the city of Khandab was hit by two projectiles.
The latest escalation comes after the collapse of the 14-point memorandum of understanding (MoU), signed last month, which had sought to end hostilities between the United States and Iran and pave the way for further negotiations, particularly on Iran’s nuclear programme and the security of the Strait of Hormuz.
Following the breakdown of the agreement, hostilities have resumed across West Asia, with the United States carrying out strikes on Iranian military and strategic assets, while Iran has responded with retaliatory attacks targeting American military bases across the Gulf.
(With ANI inputs)
