US Completes Latest Wave of Strikes on Iran After Blasts
US forces struck Iranian military targets at Bandar Abbas and Qeshm Island following Trump's termination of diplomatic ties, destroying air defenses and naval facilities near the strategic Strait of Hormuz.
According to Chris Bradford writing in New York Post, the blasts hit strategically critical locations including Qeshm Island, which hosts an underground ballistic missile facility heavily guarded by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Iran’s semi-official Mehr news agency reported the explosions but could not confirm damage or casualties. The regime claimed its forces shot down what it described as a “hostile Lucas-type” American drone over Bandar Abbas.
US Central Command confirmed American forces had struck dozens of Iranian military targets in the latest wave of operations designed to neutralize Tehran’s capacity to threaten international shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
The coordinated assault destroyed Iranian air-defense systems, coastal radar installations, missile and drone facilities, and small naval craft, CENTCOM stated. The operation marked the first combat use of one-way attack sea drones alongside fighter aircraft, naval vessels, and aerial drones.
Strategic Waterway Under Threat
Bandar Abbas sits on the northern coast of the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly one-fifth of global oil supplies transit. Tehran has declared the waterway closed and announced plans to impose a permit system for commercial vessels.
CENTCOM firmly rejected Iranian claims of control over the strait, emphasizing that US forces remain positioned to guarantee freedom of navigation for commercial shipping despite what it termed Iran’s unwarranted aggression and arbitrary declarations.
Tehran Claims Retaliatory Strikes
The Iranian regime announced it had targeted American military installations in Bahrain and Kuwait while destroying radar systems in Oman as retaliation for US operations.
The military escalation has sent oil markets rising, with Brent crude climbing 3% on Monday, though prices remain significantly below peaks reached earlier in the nearly five-month conflict between Washington and Tehran.
The exchange of fire represents the most serious direct military confrontation between American and Iranian forces since President Trump declared the memorandum of understanding between the two nations void.
With information from New York Post
