U.S. Central Command announced in a social media post that it launched new strikes against Iranian targets in the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, after two oil tankers were attacked in the critical shipping lane.
The attack came after President Donald Trump was reportedly considering a CENTCOM plan for a limited strike aimed at preventing Iran from rebuilding its radar and missile capabilities that could be used to target ships in the Strait.
Centcom announced that the U.S. military began strikes against Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps targets at noon Eastern time, following recent attempted attacks on commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz and U.S. military personnel in the area. The command did not immediately reveal the number or location of the targets or the U.S. military assets involved.
In a post on Truth Social on Tuesday, President Trump called the attack “massive and powerful” and said it was in retaliation for Iran’s attempt to add sea mines to the Strait of Hormuz and missile attacks on U.S. military bases in Jordan.
President Trump also threatened a significantly larger response if Iran retaliated, saying Iran would be attacked “harder and at a higher level” and warning that even larger attacks were “in the pipeline.”
Iran appears to have begun retaliating soon after. The state-run Tasnim news agency reported that Iranian forces had launched a “decisive operation” in response to the US attack, saying US military bases and interests in the region would be targeted by Iranian missiles and drones.
The escalation threatens to extend a war that Trump once predicted would end within four weeks, complicating his campaign promise to end the war as November’s midterm elections approach. A Reuters/Ipsos poll released Monday found President Trump’s approval rating at 33%, while only 36% of Americans support war with Iran.
The operation marks a new escalation after the United States and Iran engaged in a gunfight over the weekend for the first time in nearly a month.
On Sunday, the US military struck Iran’s Ralak Island with a rocket launcher after the Central Communications Agency said the Iranian military was preparing to fire a mine-laden rocket into the strait.
The Iranian government fired a missile at a US base in Jordan, which was intercepted in response. The United Arab Emirates also announced that it intercepted an Iranian drone over its territorial waters.
President Trump hinted at further retaliation on Monday, telling Fox News: “We’re going to hit them hard. We’re going to get back at them.”
The U.S. Embassy in Qatar on Tuesday warned of the possibility of “unexpected escalation,” warning Americans in the region to be on high alert due to the possibility of flight cancellations, airspace closures and other travel disruptions.
The attack is the latest flashpoint in a months-long battle between Washington and Tehran over the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most important energy chokepoints. Before the war, about one-fifth of the world’s oil supply passed through waterways, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
