President Trump directed a new round of airstrikes against Iran on Monday, extending a US military campaign that has now targeted regime-linked sites for three straight nights.
US Central Command said the latest operation began at 4:45 p.m. ET “at the Commander in Chief’s direction,” confirming that American forces had launched the third consecutive night of strikes.
In its statement, CENTCOM said the attacks were intended to “continue imposing a heavy cost on Iranian forces” while weakening Tehran’s ability to threaten civilians and commercial vessels moving through the Strait of Hormuz.
The renewed strikes followed a broad operation Sunday night in which US fighter jets, naval vessels, one-way attack aerial drones and one-way attack sea drones struck “dozens of targets at multiple locations,” according to CENTCOM. The targets included Iranian air-defense systems, coastal radar sites, missile and drone assets, and small boats.
Trump had signaled earlier Monday that the United States was prepared to assert control over the Strait of Hormuz, a vital maritime passageway, as he promoted the latest display of American military force.
“We’re taking over the strait. They have nothing. They’ve got nothing,” Trump said during an appearance on “Fox & Friends,” responding to Iran’s claim that it had closed the crucial waterway.
The president went further later in the interview, saying the US would “hit them very hard” and continue to secure the strait. “We’ll become the guardian of the strait,” he said, adding, “Maybe we’ll call it the guardian angel of the strait, and we should be reimbursed for that … We guarded it for nothing, and now we’re going to guard it — we’re going to get paid for guarding it.”
