THE WASHINGTON POST: US intensifies strikes on Iran’s coast along Strait of Hormuz
The US and Iran traded renewed airstrikes following President Donald Trump’s declaration of the collapse of a preliminary peace agreement on Wednesday.
U.S. forces hit 90 targets overnight mostly along Iran’s coastline with the Strait of Hormuz, stepping up a renewed bombing campaign after President Donald Trump said he thought a tentative truce agreement was “over.”
Iran, in turn, fired drones and missiles at US military targets in the Persian Gulf region, marking the second day of tit-for-tat strikes.
The renewed military action - after huge crowds in Tehran vowed revenge against America during elaborate funeral rites this week for their assassinated supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and after Mr Trump called Iran’s leaders “scum” - signalled that the war is far from winding down.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.Just last month, the United States and Iran announced a framework for ending the war, spurring short-lived worldwide relief.
That framework was followed by the start of negotiations aimed at forging a more durable peace accord within 60 days. But less than half that time had elapsed when Mr Trump on Wednesday said he believed the ceasefire had collapsed.
Control of the Strait of Hormuz has remained a sticking point, with neither side willing to accept the other’s terms and Iran continuing to attack some ships as they transit through the narrow waterway, which is vital to global commerce.
The sides also seemed to make little progress on the thorny issue of Iran’s nuclear program, which has long been the main point of contention between Washington and Tehran.
The strikes in recent days - the first round of which hit 80 targets, according to the US military, and the new barrage of 90 overnight - followed attacks by Iran on ships passing through the strait.
The US strikes were intended “to further degrade Iran’s ability to attack commercial shipping and innocent civilian mariners in the Strait of Hormuz,” US Central Command said in a statement early Thursday.
Targets included air defence systems, coastal surveillance assets, missile and drone storage sites, naval capabilities and military logistics infrastructure.
Iran retaliated by firing missiles and drones at US military sites located in partner countries in the Persian Gulf region, including Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar.
In a statement carried by Iran’s semiofficial Mehr News, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said the drone attacks were a “first stage” and warned of further strikes on American targets in the region if the US air campaign continues.
“The Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran … will not allow the goals and aspirations of the foolish US president to be realized with authority and under any circumstances, and will defend the lofty ideals of the Islamic Revolution until the final victory,” the statement read.
