The U.S. military struck Iranian targets around the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday after attacks on commercial shipping and U.S. personnel, Centcom said. President Trump described the strikes as large and powerful and warned of a much bigger response if Tehran retaliates again.
U.S. Central Command said forces began striking Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps targets in Iran at noon ET on Tuesday, responding to recent attempted attacks on commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and on U.S. personnel in the region. Centcom did not disclose the number or location of the targets, or which military assets carried out the operation.
The strikes followed a pair of oil tankers coming under attack in the critical shipping route. They also came a day after reports that Trump was weighing a Centcom plan for periodic attacks meant to stop Iran from rebuilding radar and missile capabilities around Hormuz.
Trump threatens a harder response
Trump described Tuesday's strikes as large and powerful in a Truth Social post, saying they were retaliation for Iran's attempt to add sea mines to the Strait of Hormuz and its missile attack on a U.S. base in Jordan. He also threatened a significantly larger response if Tehran retaliates, saying Iran would be hit at a much harder and higher level, and that an even bigger attack was waiting in the wings.
The warning follows Trump's comments to Fox News on Monday. According to CNBC: "We're going to hit them hard. There will be a response."
A weekend exchange of fire
Tuesday's operation marks a new escalation after the U.S. and Iran exchanged fire over the weekend for the first time in roughly a month. On Sunday, the U.S. military struck rocket launchers on Iran's Larak Island after Centcom said Iranian forces were preparing to fire rockets carrying sea mines into the strait.
Tehran responded by launching missiles at U.S. sites in Jordan, which were intercepted. The United Arab Emirates also said it intercepted an Iranian drone over its territorial waters.
A war straining Trump's approval
The escalation extends a war Trump once predicted would be over in four weeks, complicating his pledge to end conflicts abroad ahead of November's midterm election. Trump's approval sits at 33%, while just 36% of Americans approve of the Iran war, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released Monday.
The U.S. Embassy in Qatar issued a security alert Tuesday warning of the potential for unforeseen escalation and urging Americans in the region to exercise heightened vigilance amid possible flight cancellations and airspace closures. The Strait of Hormuz remains one of the world's most important energy chokepoints — before the war, roughly a fifth of global oil supplies passed through the waterway, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Source: CNBC
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