Tomahawk cruise missiles were launched from Flight IIA Arleigh Burke-class Aegis guided missile destroyer USS Michael Murphy as America stepped up pressure on Iran.
The attacks were characterised as “self-defence strikes” in a statement released by U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM). It said the targets were “Iranian military surveillance capabilities, communication systems, and air-defence sites across Iran.”
It noted: “U.S. Marine Corps, Air Force, and Navy assets fired precision munitions on Iranian targets that posed a threat to U.S. forces and international commercial ships transiting regional waters. The strikes are in response to Iran’s unwarranted and continued aggression.”
The ceasefire agreed between the two sides is being stretched towards breaking point. U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly claimed a peace deal is very close to being agreed, but Iranian sources tend to offer more pessimistic assessments.
On Monday a U.S. Army AH-64 Apache helicopter patrolling regional waters was downed by an Iranian drone off the coast of Oman; the two air crew were rescued by an uncrewed surface vessel.
CENTCOM this week denied Iranian media reports that a U.S. Navy warship had been struck in the Strait of Hormuz. On Tuesday American forces disabled a Palau-flagged oil tanker, the Settebello, in the Gulf of Oman.
As per CENTCOM, the tanker had been violating its blockade by attempting to transport oil from Iran; a U.S. aircraft “fired precision munitions into the ship’s engine room after the crew repeatedly failed to comply with directions from American forces.”
It said since April 13 American forces had disabled eight non-compliant vessels, redirected 134 ships that complied, and allowed 42 vessels supporting humanitarian aid to pass.
From the U.S. perspective, any peace settlement has to include a guarantee that Iran will dispose of its uranium stockpiles and will not develop a nuclear weapon. It also needs to include freedom of navigation for commercial and military ships seeking to transit the Strait of Hormuz.
Meanwhile, Iran’s demands include a cessation of Israeli attacks on itself and in Lebanon.
- You can read CENTCOM’s latest updates on its X social media feed