“At the direction of the Commander in Chief, U.S. Central Command forces have started conducting additional strikes against Iran to further degrade their ability to threaten freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz,” Central Command, which oversees U.S. forces in the Middle East, said in a statement shortly after 4 p.m. EDT.
“The United States is holding Iran accountable for recent unjustified aggression against commercial shipping and civilian crews freely navigating a vital international waterway.”
Trump previewed the strikes during the NATO summit earlier in the day.
“I’ll give them a little warning: We’re going to hit them hard tonight, but we’ll see how it all works out,” Trump told reporters, adding he is not “happy” with Iran’s leadership.
The president also floated reimposing the naval blockade, which was lifted in mid-June after Iran and the U.S. penned a memorandum of understanding to end the conflict.
Trump, who was visibly angered by Iranian strikes on commercial vessels, said the agreement is “over.”
“I don’t want to deal with them anymore. They’re scum,” Trump said, adding it was a waste of time to deal with the country’s negotiators.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Wednesday the Pentagon would strike Iran “even more and even deeper” if Trump gives the green light.
The new round of strikes comes after the U.S. military launched a barrage of strikes against Iran on Tuesday evening in retaliation for Tehran targeting three commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz in recent days.
Read the full report at thehill.com.
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