US forces target an Iranian maritime asset in its 13th consecutive night of strikes US Central Command
Security

VIDEO | US strikes Iran for 13th straight night, Trump vows major punishment after Houthi strikes

Reuters

The US military said late on Thursday it completed its latest round of strikes on Iran that marked a 13th consecutive night of American attacks.

The latest strikes lasted more than two hours, according to the US Central Command (CENTCOM).

"CENTCOM targeted Iranian military command centres, drone storage facilities, communication networks, coastal surveillance sites and maritime capabilities to further diminish the threat Iran poses to civilian mariners and commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz," it said in a statement.

President Donald Trump promised "major military punishment" for Iran and its Houthi allies on Thursday after the Yemeni fighters struck two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea, extending the war into a second major shipping chokepoint.

Tehran has blocked the Strait of Hormuz. The US-Israeli war on Iran began on February 28; Tehran responded with its own strikes on Israel and Persian Gulf states that host US bases.

Trump has also threatened to target Iranian energy facilities and bridges.

Iran has warned that if the US carried out such threats, Iranian forces would target regional oil, gas, electricity and economic facilities.

(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Christian Schmollinger and Thomas Derpinghaus)