The United States has launched strikes against Iran following attacks on three oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, targeting more than 80 sites including over 60 Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps small boats operating in the waterway.
US Central Command said it also struck Iranian missile launch sites and command centres, describing the operation as an effort to “impose heavy costs for targeting and attacking commercial shipping crewed by innocent individuals in an international waterway.” It did not disclose the locations of all targets.
Iranian state media reported that strikes hit Qeshm island, Bandar Abbas and Sirik, with people injured by shrapnel in those areas. Iran has not directly claimed responsibility for the original tanker attacks.
Tehran’s deputy foreign minister called the US strikes a violation of the memorandum of understanding signed between the two countries last month. Iran’s foreign ministry added that it “will take whatever measures it considers necessary to safeguard its national interests and national security.” Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei separately suggested that vessels using routes not coordinated with Iran, or tampering with ship tracking systems, risked collision and disrupted Iran’s stated efforts to manage safe transit in the strait.
Qatar and Saudi Arabia each confirmed that one of their tankers had been struck. Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesperson Majed Al Ansari said Doha held Iran “fully responsible” for the attack on the vessel Al-Rekayyat and demanded that Tehran “immediately cease all practices that undermine regional security” and “refrain from endangering global energy supplies.” Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry said the tanker Wadyan had been targeted as it crossed the strait, calling the attacks “an assault on the security and safety of international navigation, and the security of global energy supplies.”
Separately, the UK Maritime Trade Operations reported that on Monday a tanker had caught fire after a projectile hit its engine room. Two further incidents were recorded on Tuesday.
Before announcing the strikes, the US Treasury revoked a sanctions waiver on Iranian oil that had been granted as part of last month’s memorandum. Iran’s foreign ministry described the move as proof of Washington’s “bad faith, inconsistency, and unreliability.”
The memorandum, a 14-point agreement, extended a ceasefire between the two countries, committed Iran to never acquiring a nuclear weapon, and established a $300bn fund for Iran’s reconstruction and economic development. It also required Iran and Oman to hold talks with other Gulf states on future administration of the Strait of Hormuz, through which about a fifth of the world’s oil and gas supplies typically flow. Iran’s Fars news agency has reported that under the agreement, the strait would ultimately be managed by Iran in coordination with Oman, potentially including service fees for vessels transiting the waterway.
According to the BBC, an unamed US official, speaking before Centcom’s announcement, said American negotiators would continue to work in “good faith” toward a final deal with Iran.
