The United States Army Central Command (CENTCOM) reported this Sunday a new series of bombings against Iranian positions, in retaliation for the Revolutionary Guard's offensive against a merchant ship that allegedly ignored their orders, which has led to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz "until further notice."
"US Central Command forces began launching the third round of attacks this week against Iran after Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces brazenly attacked the M/V GFS Galaxy, a Cyprus-flagged container ship transiting the Strait of Hormuz," the Army emphasized in a social media post.
Washington has detailed that one of the crew members of the Cypriot freighter remains missing and that the attack by Iranian forces would have caused a "fire on board and significant damage to the engine room," which would have prevented the ship from continuing its route normally.
"Iran was given another opportunity to demonstrate its adherence to the Memorandum of Understanding after being held accountable for previous attacks on commercial vessels, but it has failed again," the US forces assured, insisting that Tehran has disregarded its commitments.
At the same time, Washington emphasizes that it is "imposing a high cost" on Iranian forces by "degrading their capabilities to attack vessels freely transiting" the Strait of Hormuz, in an attempt to ensure the safety of navigation in this strategic passage.
After the closure of the strait became public, the US Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, aligned himself with CENTCOM's warnings and remarked that Iran will have to bear the consequences of its actions.
"Iran has made a bad decision. Now it will pay," Hegseth stated in a brief message disseminated on social media, raising the tone of the US response.
For its part, the Revolutionary Guard has confirmed that the Strait of Hormuz is closed to navigation "until further notice" after firing warning shots at the merchant ship, which, according to their version, would have disregarded the instructions issued by the Iranian authorities in the area.
According to Tehran, the M/V GFS Galaxy, which was navigating through the strait, had "endangered maritime security by turning off its systems," for which it has been "hit by a warning shot and forced to stop" by the Revolutionary Guard, which thus justifies its intervention.
In parallel, Iran has issued a serious warning to both the Government of Donald Trump and its regional partners, warning them that if they "make a mistake" and "lash out at Tehran," they will "face a severe response, and new enemy bases in the region will be the target of our attacks."
These threats come at a particularly delicate time for the talks between Iran and the United States, after several days of exchanging bombings and after Washington issued a new ultimatum for Tehran to publicly announce this Saturday the unhindered reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
Official US sources have confirmed that the United States has given Iran until this Saturday to publicly announce that it will allow free, safe, and unrestricted navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, a condition that Washington considers essential to de-escalate tensions.