A high-ranking American official told a Fox News reporter that the strikes do not mean a resumption of war, writes ToI.
US regional command CENTCOM confirmed on the X network that it carried out “self-defense strikes” in Iran in response to “unprovoked Iranian attacks” against US Navy missile destroyers that sailed through the Strait of Hormuz into the Gulf of Oman.
“Iranian forces fired several missiles, drones and small boats as the USS Truxtun (DDG 103), USS Rafael Peralta (DDG 115) and USS Mason (DDG 87) passed through the International Sea Route,” CENTCOM said in a statement.
The command says it neutralized “incoming threats” and that “no US assets were hit.” According to him, the strikes were aimed at Iranian military facilities responsible for the attack on American forces, including missile and drone launchers, command and control posts and nodes of the intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance system.
“CENTCOM is not seeking escalation, but remains in place and stands ready to protect US forces,” the statement said.
American President Donald Trump later wrote on his social network Truth Social that three US Navy destroyers sailed through the Strait of Hormuz under fire.
“Three first-class American destroyers just sailed, very successfully, through the Strait of Hormuz, under fire. The three destroyers suffered no damage, but the Iranian attackers suffered heavy damage,” Trump said. “They were completely destroyed, along with many small boats. These ships went to the bottom of the sea, quickly and effectively… The missiles were shot down. So were the drones, they were burned while in the air. They glided down to the ocean as gracefully as a butterfly falling into a grave!”
At the same time, the American president threatened Iran with further attacks if it does not agree to an agreement in the ongoing negotiations with the United States.
“A normal country would allow these destroyers to pass, but Iran is not a normal country. It is run by CRAZIES, and if they had the chance to use a nuclear weapon, they would do so without hesitation,” he wrote. “But they’ll never get that chance, and just as we knocked them out again today, we’ll knock them out much harder and more violently in the future if they don’t sign their deal quickly!”
Earlier, Trump told a reporter from ABC News that the recent US strikes were “just a light slap.” But he noted that “the ceasefire is ongoing. It is in force.”
However, the headquarters of the Iranian Armed Forces stated in its statement that the American strikes are a violation of the ceasefire. The United States attacked two Iranian vessels near the Strait of Hormuz and civilian targets on the island of Keshm and in the areas of the port cities of Sirik and Bandar Chamir, the command said, according to Reuters.
According to ToI, Iran’s Mehr agency wrote that air defenses were activated in Tehran after a pair of loud explosions in the Iranian capital. She also informed that explosions were heard in the port of Bandar Abbas.
The escalation comes after US President Donald Trump suspended the Project Freedom operation just one day after the announcement, which was supposed to ensure the protection of merchant ships sailing through the Strait of Hormuz. Tehran has been blocking this strategic strait for several weeks.
