U.S. Central Command launched strikes against Iran on Thursday in response to an Iranian drone attack on a commercial vessel transiting the Strait of Hormuz a day earlier, the command announced.
U.S. aircraft hit Iranian missile and drone storage sites, and coastal radar installations, CENTCOM said, after Iran struck the M/V Ever Lovely on June 25 with a one-way attack drone. The Singapore-flagged cargo ship was exiting the strait along the Omani coast when it was hit.
CENTCOM said the attack on commercial shipping violated the ceasefire with Iran and undermined freedom of navigation through the waterway, a vital international trade corridor that has seen rising commercial traffic in recent weeks.
The command said its forces continue to provide safe-passage coordination and support to commercial vessels transiting the strait, and that the U.S. military "remains present and vigilant to ensure all aspects of the agreement with Iran are adhered to."
Thursday's strikes mark the latest flashpoint in months of escalating tensions around the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world's most critical maritime chokepoints.
