Trump Says US Strikes Hit Iran 'Very Hard' for 9th Consecutive Night
- US Central Command launched a new wave of strikes on Iran for the ninth straight night, targeting military sites and communications networks
- Trump said the attacks were carried out in honour of three US soldiers killed in Jordan and Iraq in recent days
- Iran threatened a punitive operation and warned the Strait of Hormuz would not be safe for oil transit as long as US strikes continue
President Donald Trump confirmed on Monday that the United States had struck Iran "very hard" overnight, saying the attacks were carried out "in honour" of three American soldiers killed in recent days, two in Jordan and one in Iraq.
US Central Command (Centcom) said it had launched a "new wave" of strikes in the early hours of Monday local time, marking the ninth consecutive night of attacks.
Source: Getty Images
According to BBC, the military said it had hit Iranian military sites and communications infrastructure to "further diminish" Tehran's ability to target vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency reported that multiple cities were struck, including Tabriz, Chabahar, Konarak, Bandar Mahshahr and Bandar Imam Khomeini. Iranian state media also reported that two oil tankers had exploded while attempting to cross the strait. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said the vessels were travelling through what it described as an "unsafe and hazardous southern route" and had "exploded and were brought to a halt." Centcom disputed those claims.
Iran issues Strait of Hormuz warning
The IRGC warned that the strait "will not be safe for the transit of petrochemical products, nor even a single drop of oil and gas" for as long as US strikes continue, vowing a "punitive operation" in response.
Iran also said it had launched a "surprise attack" in Syria and targeted US aircraft at Jordan's Aqaba airport. Kuwait's armed forces separately said they had intercepted Iranian drones during the same period.
Diplomacy stalls as casualties mount
The overnight strikes followed a difficult weekend for US forces in the region. On Saturday, a service member died after an Iranian attack in northern Iraq. The previous day, two US soldiers were killed and another went missing following an attack on a base in Jordan. US authorities later said "unidentified remains" had been found, with verification still under way.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said over the weekend that the US "always remains open to a diplomatic solution" but argued that "the world has to decide whether or not it's going to allow an international waterway to be under the control" of Iran. He said Tehran was using the Strait of Hormuz as leverage in the wider standoff.
The remarks came as diplomatic efforts appeared to be losing ground. A preliminary ceasefire agreed in mid-June has since collapsed, and negotiations toward a lasting peace agreement have made little headway after Trump declared the deal "over" on July 8.
Source: Getty Images
US issues fresh worldwide warning message to citizens
Legit.ng earlier reported that amid the ongoing war with Iran, the United States State Department on Sunday, July 19, re-issued its Worldwide Caution advisory.
Source: Legit.ng
