UNIPA News(Tehran) 13 July-The United States has launched a new round of military strikes against Iran, marking a significant escalation in the ongoing confrontation over security in the Strait of Hormuz, according to the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM).
CENTCOM said the operation began at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time under the direction of President Donald Trump and was intended to further reduce Iran’s military capabilities that Washington says have been used to threaten civilian mariners and commercial shipping transiting the strategic waterway.
According to the command, the latest operation employed fighter aircraft, naval vessels, aerial drones, and naval drones simultaneously for the first time. CENTCOM said the strikes were aimed at ensuring freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, emphasizing that the waterway remains an international maritime corridor and is not under Iranian control.
Iranian authorities reported casualties from the strikes. Khuzestan Deputy Governor Valiollah Hayati said an attack on an agricultural water pumping station in Mahshahr County, in Iran’s southwestern Khuzestan Province, killed one security guard and injured four others. The injured were reported to be receiving medical treatment.
The latest military action follows statements from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which declared that the Strait of Hormuz should once again be considered closed following U.S. military operations. The IRGC also claimed that two vessels using the southern maritime route near Oman, rather than Iran’s designated northern passage, were struck.
Iran further announced that it had targeted U.S. interests across the region, including locations in Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan, Qatar, and Oman, describing the actions as retaliation for recent American strikes.
CENTCOM stated that more than 300 military targets had been struck across three waves of operations. The targets reportedly included coastal surveillance systems, logistics facilities, communications infrastructure, missile sites, drone capabilities, and naval assets. U.S. officials said civilian infrastructure was not intentionally targeted.
The strikes were concentrated primarily in Iran’s southern Hormozgan Province, including the strategic port city of Bandar Abbas, as well as Siri Island, Qeshm Island, and Jask, all of which overlook the Strait of Hormuz.
Iranian officials said several port facilities, fishing infrastructure, coastal control positions, and air defense installations were among the sites hit. Authorities also reported both military and civilian casualties, although no comprehensive casualty figures have been released.
Additional strikes were reported in Bushehr Province, where one attack occurred near the perimeter of Iran’s only nuclear power plant. Iranian officials said the nuclear facility itself was not damaged.
The latest exchange of military action has further diminished prospects for diplomatic engagement, as both Washington and Tehran continue to exchange strikes while tensions across the Gulf region remain high.
