United States forces have conducted additional strikes against Iranian assets, US Central Command confirmed, following a fresh attack on an oil tanker transiting near the Strait of Hormuz.
According to the account, Iran launched a one-way attack drone that struck the tanker as it moved through the area. The vessel was carrying more than two million barrels of crude oil at the time.
The new strikes came a day after earlier US strikes, which had themselves been a response to a previous Iranian attack on a tanker in the same waters. The pattern points to a deepening cycle of attacks and reprisals.
Iran had been given the opportunity to honour the ceasefire agreement reached between the two sides, but elected not to, instead carrying out the latest drone attack on the tanker.
US Central Command confirmed that American forces conducted another strike against Iranian assets, carried out at President Trump's direction, in direct response to continued Iranian aggression against commercial shipping. According to its statement, US military aircraft targeted Iranian military surveillance infrastructure, communication systems, air defence sites and drone storage facilities, a broader set of targets than the coastal radar systems struck in the earlier round.
The Strait of Hormuz is one of the world's most important shipping routes for oil and gas. Repeated attacks on vessels transiting it have raised concerns over the security of the waterway and the flow of energy supplies. US forces said commercial vessel transits through the strait were continuing and that they remained vigilant.
The latest exchange marks the sharpest spike in tension between the United States and Iran since the memorandum of understanding between them was signed, though it was cast as controlled escalation rather than a slide back toward open war. The situation remained developing.