US Conducts Fresh Airstrikes on Iran After Ship Attacks

The U.S. carried out a series of fresh airstrikes against Iran on July 7 as the tenuous ceasefire between the countries again broke down over disputes over the Strait of Hormuz. 

The operation was intended “to impose heavy costs” for Iran’s recent attacks on commercial shipping, U.S. Central Command said in a statement soon after the strikes began.

The action came hours after Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps attacked multiple commercial ships near the strait.

“Iran’s demonstrated aggression was unwarranted, dangerous, and a clear violation of the ceasefire,” CENTCOM added.

Ratcheting up the economic pressure against Tehran, the Treasury Department also revoked a license that allowed Iran to sell oil internationally. 

The two moves raised questions about the durability of the memorandum of understanding the Trump administration reached with Iran to open the strait and set the stage for talks on ways to curb Iran’s nuclear program. Oil prices, which had dipped after that accord, began to rise again.

The U.S. hit some 80 targets, which were intended to “degrade Iran’s ability to continue attacking international commerce” in the Strait of Hormuz, CENTCOM added after the strikes concluded. Targets included air defense systems, anti-ship missile sites, command-and-control centers, coastal radars, and more than 60 IRGC small boats, according to the command. Iranian state media reported explosions in Sirik, Qeshm, and Bandar Abbas, all of which are along the Strait of Hormuz and have been frequently attacked by U.S. forces.

The ceasefire between Iran and the U.S. had repeatedly faltered, only to be restored. The question now is whether the larger agreement can still be preserved, along with the possibility of talks on Iran’s nuclear program. The U.S. still considers the ceasefire in effect, officials said. But the strikes on July 7 were bigger than previous waves of U.S. attacks during the ceasefire.

“CENTCOM forces remain postured and prepared to hold Iran accountable when the agreement is not adhered to or obeyed,” the command said.

Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister condemned the Iranian attacks, which it said targeted Saudi and Qatari tankers. Qatar called the Iranian attacks a “grave and explicit violation of international law.”

The Iranian attacks that set off the back-and-forth July 7 were the heaviest on commercial shipping in a single day since April, according to the International Maritime Organization. The U.S. and Iran have clashed over the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. The U.S. is backing a southern route that hugs the coast of Oman. Iran wants ships to pass through the water it controls near its territory.