The United States Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed this Saturday that its air forces carried out bombings on key Iranian enclaves in the vicinity of the Strait of Hormuz, in retaliation for Tehran's "continued aggression" "against commercial shipping."
In a note released on its social networks, the military command explained that "CENTCOM forces launched strikes today in direct response to continued Iranian aggression against commercial shipping. U.S. military aircraft struck Iranian military surveillance infrastructure, communication systems, air defense sites, drone storage facilities, and mine-laying systems."
Washington maintains that these bombings constitute a direct response to recent attacks attributed to Iran against a Singapore-flagged merchant ship transiting the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday, as well as against a Panamanian-flagged vessel on the same route last night.
The statement further emphasizes that "Iran had the opportunity to respect the ceasefire agreement, but chose not to do so when its forces launched a one-way attack drone."
Official Iranian media have reported that, between Saturday night and Sunday morning, several projectiles impacted the Sirik region and the Qeshm area, in the Iranian sector of the Strait of Hormuz.
Public television IRIB has indicated that several explosions were recorded in the town of Taherui and, citing "an informed military source," attributes the explosions to the impact of projectiles against a communications tower.
The same channel also mentions impacts in Masan, in the Qeshm region, an island off the Iranian coast, near the strategic port of Bandar Abbas.
In parallel, the American media outlet Axios, citing American sources, has pointed out that the American offensive would be linked to the response for the impact of a projectile against a tanker registered on Saturday morning.
On the same day, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), an agency dependent on the British Ministry of Defense, reported that a tanker had been hit by a projectile in the waters of the Strait of Hormuz.
According to the UKMTO, the ship's owner, whose identity has not been disclosed, reported the incident at 08:00 this Saturday, indicating that "an unidentified projectile" caused "damage to the bridge". "The entire crew is safe. No environmental damage has been reported so far," the agency specified in its note.
Given this situation, the British agency has urged ships navigating the area to exercise extreme "caution" and to "report any suspicious activity". Likewise, it has raised the threat level to "substantial" and has warned of the presence of warships dedicated to mine clearance operations in the strait.