Iranian forces have continued to attack commercial ships traveling through the Strait of Hormuz even as the United States launched additional strikes on the country.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps ‘fired at commercial shipping’ in the vital waterway on Sunday night, Capt. Tim Hawkins, US Central Command spokesman, told The New York Times.
‘US aircraft have successfully shot down an Iranian cruise missile and one-way attack drone so far,’ he said.
This happened after CENTCOM announced that American forces had begun launching additional strikes on Iran ‘to continue degrading their ability to attack civilian mariners and commercial ships freely transiting the Strait of Hormuz.’
CENTCOM noted that President Donald Trump directed the strikes to ‘hold Iranian forces accountable’ after the president declared on national television that the strait was open.
Some of the strikes were reportedly conducted on missile and air defense systems and paramilitary Revolutionary Guard boats at a couple of locations to further degrade Iran’s ability to attack commercial shipping, a US official told the Associated Press.
The governor of Qeshm Island near the strait had already told Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency that projectiles were fired at military targets, with no casualties.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry reacting to the attacks, condemned them and accused the United States of violating international law.
