The US military on Saturday (local time) said that it had struck a number of targets in Iran on the orders of President Donald Trump, which has now shaken the uneasy ceasefire between the two nations.
In a social media post, the US Central Command said that their aircraft targetted Iran's military surveillance infrastructure, communication systems, air defense sites, drone storage facilities, and minelayer capabilities” after an attack on a merchant vessel on Saturday.
US President Trump has also issued a stern warning to Iran, saying that US forces had struck Iranian infrastructure after it violated the ceasefire agreements, and if this continues, their entire country may cease to exist.
"United States aircraft just struck Iranian missile and drone storage locations, and coastal radar sites, for violating the Cease Fire Agreement, AGAIN! It is very possible that they will never learn! There may come a point when we are no longer able to be reasonable, and will be forced to militarily complete the job that we very successfully started. If that happens, the Islamic Republic of Iran will no longer exist! President DJT," Trump said on Truth Social.
This incident occurs in the wake of a similar back-and-forth that happened just a day earlier on Thursday when a merchant vessel was struck by a missile off the coast of Oman, following which the US military struck Iran.
US Central Command claimed after their latest attack that it was done in response to Iran striking a vessel called Kiku, which was carrying two million barrels of crude oil through the Strait of Hormuz, with a one-way drone.
As per ship-tracking websites, the tanker left an oil field in Qatar in the Persian Gulf earlier in the week and was going to a port in the United Arab Emirates on the other side of the Strait of Hormuz.
Washington said earlier that it hit Iranian targets overnight. Iran said it responded on Saturday by striking targets linked to U.S. forces. Saturday's attack on a tanker in the strait followed another on a cargo ship on Thursday that triggered the latest escalation. Iran has made a fresh bid to assert control over the world's most important energy shipping route, which has begun to reopen after months of disruption.
Britain's UKMTO maritime security agency said the tanker hit on Saturday had sustained damage to its bridge, with all crew reported safe. The Joint Maritime Information Center, run by a coalition of navies protecting shipping, raised its security threat level as a result of recent incidents.
Iran has not directly commented on reports of specific attacks on ships. But Iranian state television reported that the Revolutionary Guards fired "warning shots" toward unspecified vessels attempting to pass through channels not approved by Iran, and that this was now prompting other ships to seek Iranian permits before attempting to cross the strait.
