US completes wave of strikes targeting Iranian air defenses, missile cap...

US completes wave of strikes targeting Iranian air defenses, missile capabilities

US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced that American forces have completed a wave of strikes against Iran in the early morning hours of Monday. In a statement on X/Twitter, CENTCOM stated that the strikes were intended to degrade Iran’s “ability to attack civilian mariners and commercial ships freely transiting the Strait of Hormuz.” CENTCOM stated that they hit dozens of targets across multiple cities. The targets included Iranian military air defense systems, radar sites, small boats, and missile and drone capabilities. US one-way sea attack drones were used for the first time in the strikes, CENTCOM stated, adding that precise munitions, fighter aircraft, aerial drones, and naval vessels were all utilized in the operation. CENTCOM asserted that US forces are postured and prepared to ensure the Strait of Hormuz remains open for commercial shipping, “despite Iran’s continued unwarranted aggression, harassment, threats, and arbitrary declarations.” Earlier on Monday, a CENTCOM spokesperson told CNN that US aircraft had successfully shot down an Iranian cruise missile and a one-way attack drone. The spokesperson added that within the past hour, Iran fired at a commercial ship in the Strait of Hormuz. Several explosions were heard in Iranian cities, including Sirik and Bandar Abbas, shortly after midnight on Monday, according to Iranian state media reports. Iranian state media reported that one person was killed and four were injured during the strikes. CENTCOM hit 140 Iranian targets during Sunday strikes The US carried out similar strikes on Iran in the early morning hours on Sunday, hitting approximately 140 Iranian military targets, according to a CENTCOM statement. Sunday’s strikes targeted Iranian missile and drone sites, ammunition storage facilities, communications, and coastal surveillance locations using precise munitions. According to CENTCOM, the strikes were initiated for the purpose of “holding Iranian forces accountable” for the attack on a commercial vessel transiting the Strait of Hormuz.