The US military says it has begun a new round of strikes against Iran to “further degrade” its capabilities to attack ships in the Strait of Hormuz.
The strikes – the 10th consecutive night of attacks – come after US President Donald Trump vowed to punish Iran for the deaths of US soldiers, two of whom have been identified by the Pentagon.
Trump earlier said Iran had been hit “very hard” the previous night “in honour” of three US soldiers killed recently – two in Jordan and one in Iraq. Iran’s military and communications sites were struck.
Iran said it had targeted sites in Bahrain, Jordan and Syria, with President Masoud Pezeshkian saying Iran was now fighting a “full-scale war” with the US.
At the same time, Tehran said diplomatic messages were still being exchanged by both sides through intermediaries, despite a collapse of a ceasefire.
On Tuesday night the Department of Defense confirmed the identities of two of the US soldiers – Pte Isabella Gonzales, 19, from Texas, and Lt Tyler James Feehan, 25, from Hawaii – who were killed in an Iranian strike on the Muwaffaq Salti base in Jordan over the weekend.
US Central Command (Centcom) said earlier a third service member also went missing in action after the attack, and unidentified remains were later found in the area.
Elsewhere in the region, Jordan’s military said late on Monday it had shot down three Iranian missiles as sirens sounded across the country warning of incoming fire.
Earlier in the day, Kuwait’s armed forces said they had intercepted Iranian drones.
Bahrain said drones launched by Iran had targeted its air navigation systems – but traffic remained unaffected.
On the US strikes the previous night, Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency reported that several cities had been hit including Tabriz, Chabahar, Konarak, Bandar Mahshahr and Bandar Imam Khomeini.
Iranian state media reported that two oil tankers had exploded as the vessels tried to cross the strait.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said the tankers were going through what it called an “unsafe and hazardous southern route” of the strait and “exploded and were brought to a halt”. Centcom disputed the claims.
Source:
www.bbc.co.uk
