President Trump directed US forces to launch strikes on Iranian military targets for the 10th straight night on Monday, following his pledge to retaliate “many times over” for the deaths of American service members.
“Today at 4 pm ET, US forces began a new round of strikes against Iran at the Commander in Chief’s direction,” CENTCOM said in a post on X.
The combatant command said the latest strikes were intended to further weaken Iranian military assets used in attacks on commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most critical maritime routes.
The operation concluded at about 9 p.m. ET.
According to CENTCOM, US forces hit Iranian military command centers, maritime assets, missile and drone launch locations, and air defense systems. The command also released video showing several structures being struck in what it described as precision attacks.
/ SplashNews.com
“Commercial vessel transits through the vital international maritime corridor continue,” CENTCOM said, adding that since early May, its forces have helped support the passage of roughly 900 commercial vessels and 450 million barrels of crude oil.
The new wave of US airstrikes was announced only hours after Trump expressed anger over the deaths of three American service members killed in Iranian strikes on Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan.
“Every time Iran kills an American Soldier they will pay for that killing many times over!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“This directive has been passed on to Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Daniel Caine, and every Leader in the Military,” the president added.
Pvt. Isabella Gonzales, 19, was killed in action on Friday at the US military outpost in Jordan and 1st Lt. Tyler Feehan, 25, was killed the next day. A third US service member was killed during a “controlled detonation” of a downed Iranian drone but has not been identified.
A total of 17 American service members have been killed since the launch of Operation Epic Fury by the US and Israel Feb. 28.
The US has repeatedly bombed Iran following the collapse of last month’s memorandum of understanding that called for a 60-day reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and continued nuclear talks.
Qatar has floated a 10-day cease-fire to de-escalate the renewed fighting, which began when Iran attacked commercial ships in the strait for following a US-preferred route rather than one closer to Iran, but Trump appears focused on making the regime pay for the deaths of US troops and repeated cease-fire violations.
“Right now, President Trump is focused on making Iran pay for their violations of the MOU and their continued acts of terrorism in the Strait of Hormuz,” a US official told Axios. “In addition, the President will make Iran pay for the recent deaths of US soldiers.
“These devastating blows will continue until the President deems otherwise, but talks between our countries are continuing.”
Over the weekend, CENTCOM targeted Iranian military command centers, air defense and coastal surveillance sites, maritime capabilities, missile and drone launch sites and communications networks “to further diminish Iran’s ability to attack commercial vessels and civilian mariners transiting the Strait of Hormuz.”
