WASHINGTON — U.S. forces carried out an 11th consecutive night of strikes on Iranian military targets, the U.S. military said late Tuesday, describing the operation as part of an effort to reduce Tehran's ability to threaten commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said the latest operation concluded at about 8:15 p.m. Eastern Time and targeted Iranian military operations centers, maritime capabilities, aircraft hangars, drone storage facilities and military logistics infrastructure. According to the command, the strikes were intended to further degrade Iran's capacity to carry out attacks affecting one of the world's busiest energy shipping routes.
CENTCOM said Iran had attacked more than 30 commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz during the past three months, adding that those incidents endangered civilian mariners and disrupted freedom of navigation. The U.S. military said the waterway remained open to commercial traffic and that American forces had helped facilitate the transit of roughly 900 merchant vessels carrying about 450 million barrels of crude oil since early May. Those figures were provided by CENTCOM and could not be independently verified.
The latest strikes came as regional tensions remained high following continued exchanges between U.S. and Iranian forces. Iranian state-affiliated media reported air defense activity in several parts of the country during the latest round of attacks, though the reports did not provide independently verifiable assessments of damage or casualties.
Diplomatic efforts to reduce hostilities have also continued. Pakistani officials have hosted contacts with Iranian representatives in recent days in an attempt to revive negotiations after earlier ceasefire efforts faltered, although no new agreement had been announced as of Tuesday.
U.S. officials have not released casualty assessments or estimates of damage resulting from the latest operation. Iranian authorities likewise had not issued a comprehensive official account of the impact of the strikes.
As of late Tuesday, CENTCOM said the latest wave of operations had concluded, while neither Washington nor Tehran announced any formal change in their military posture beyond the statements issued after the strikes.
