US Strikes Iran for Ninth Consecutive Night
US President Donald Trump said American forces struck Iran “very hard” during their latest operation, describing the attacks as a response honouring three US service members killed in Jordan and Iraq.
US launches ninth night of Iran strikes
US Central Command said it completed a ninth consecutive night of strikes against Iranian targets early Monday. The operation reportedly lasted about three hours and hit military installations across Iran.
CENTCOM said the targets included military command centres, air-defence systems, coastal surveillance facilities, maritime capabilities, missile and drone launch sites, and communications networks.
Washington said the operation was intended to further reduce Iran’s ability to attack commercial vessels and civilian mariners travelling through the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump said the strikes were conducted in honour of three American soldiers killed in recent incidents. Two service members died in an Iranian attack on a US position in Jordan, while another was killed in Iraq during the controlled detonation of a downed Iranian drone.
Iran claims retaliatory regional attacks
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it responded by launching a “surprise attack” on what it described as an enemy special operations command centre in Syria’s Al-Tanf region.
A Syrian military source reportedly denied that the attack had occurred. The competing accounts could not be independently verified.
Iran also claimed that ballistic missiles targeted American C-17 transport aircraft and P-8 command-and-control planes stationed at an airport near Aqaba in Jordan. Tehran said several aircraft sustained serious damage, but neither Jordan nor the United States immediately confirmed the claim.
Strait of Hormuz tensions escalate
The expanding attacks have increased concerns about shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a strategically important route for global oil and gas supplies.
Brent crude climbed above $90 a barrel amid fears that continuing military action could further disrupt tanker traffic and regional energy exports. Despite the escalation, indirect diplomatic contacts between Washington and Tehran were reportedly continuing through regional intermediaries.
