The US military has launched a series of strikes against Iran, US Central Command said Tuesday, adding that the strikes were in response to what it said were Iranian attacks on three commercial vessels that were transiting the Strait of Hormuz.
"US Central Command forces have begun launching a series of powerful strikes against Iran to impose heavy costs for targeting and attacking commercial shipping," a US military statement said.
"Iran’s demonstrated aggression was unwarranted, dangerous, and a clear violation of the ceasefire," it added.
A US official told Reuters that strikes targeted Iranian air defence systems, coastal surveillance systems, surface-to-air missiles, anti-ship cruise missiles and drone launch sites. Iranian media said six projectiles hit the area of Taheroui pier in Sirik in southern Iran.
This marks the first known US military strikes against Iran since late last month, when there were several days of strikes and counterstrikes between the two.
(Reporting by Idrees Ali, Phil Stewart, Ryan Patrick Jones, Ismail Shakil and Daphne Psaledakis; editing by Michelle Nichols and Sanjeev Miglani)