The United States Army has launched, minutes before midnight this Thursday, its twelfth consecutive night of bombings over Iran. This is a new series of attacks ordered by the occupant of the White House, Donald Trump, with which Washington seeks to diminish Tehran's ability to jeopardize the commercial traffic that crosses the Strait of Hormuz.
"Today (Wednesday), at 5:30 PM (Eastern Time, 11:30 PM in mainland Spain and 1:00 AM Thursday in Iran), U.S. forces have begun to launch new attacks against Iranian military targets, following the orders of the commander-in-chief," announced on social media the Central Command (CENTCOM) of the United States Army, referring with that last statement to Trump.
The military command has added that its "mission will continue with the objective of further reducing Iran's ability to threaten civilian sailors and merchant vessels transiting the waters of the region." This refers to the attacks attributed to forces of the Islamic Republic against oil tankers, cargo ships, and other vessels, despite Tehran using deliberately ambiguous language when discussing these episodes, mentioning, for example, "fires" and "explosions," without directly assuming authorship.
Shortly before, CENTCOM itself had rejected that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Navy of Iran "implies that international navigators can only use the routes that the Guard deems appropriate," labeling as "false" the idea that this Iranian military body "controls the entry and exit of the Strait of Hormuz."
"Iran does not control the Strait of Hormuz. The international waterway remains open to transit, regardless of the threats and attacks from the Revolutionary Guard," stated the Central Command, emphasizing that, "since early May, U.S. forces have assisted more than 900 vessels in transiting the strait" and that ships continue to cross this strategic enclave "with the military support of the United States."