US conducts new strikes on Iranian targets, officials say
The U.S. strikes came after a cargo ship was attacked in the Strait of Hormuz.
President Donald Trump announced "major combat operations" against Iran on Feb. 28, with massive joint U.S.-Israeli strikes targeting military, government and infrastructure sites.
Delegations from the U.S. and Iran entered negotiations last month aimed at a war-ending deal based on a memorandum of understanding signed by both countries.
The U.S. and Iran have nonetheless continued to exchange relatively limited strikes despite the signing of the memorandum and amid the continuation of peace talks.
Key Headlines
- US conducts new strikes on Iranian targets, officials say
- 'Catastrophic consequences': UN secretary-general warns against Iran war escalation
- Gulf states, Pakistan condemn latest round of Iranian strikes
- 'Traffic is flowing' in the Strait of Hormuz, CENTCOM says
- 5 Middle East, Gulf nations report fresh attacks
US hit over 80 targets in airstrikes: CENTCOM
U.S. forces hit over 80 targets overnight in a new round of airstrikes that came as an "immediate response" to Iran's attacks on three commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz, U.S. Central Command said.
"U.S. forces struck Iranian air defense systems, command and control networks, coastal radar sites, anti-ship missile capabilities, and more than 60 Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps small boats in and near the strait to degrade Iran’s ability to continue attacking international commerce flowing through the international trade corridor," CENTCOM said in a social media post.
CENTCOM described them as "offensive strikes" -- in contrast to strikes last month that the U.S. military characterized as "self-defense strikes."
CENTCOM said the recent strikes targeting commercial tankers in the strait amounted to "unwarranted aggression" and a clear and dangerous violation of the ceasefire and undermines freedom of navigation.
"CENTCOM forces remain postured and prepared to hold Iran accountable when the agreement is not adhered to or obeyed," the U.S. statement said.
Strikes expected to be more intense than last month's: US official
Tonight's airstrikes on Iran targeted port facilities, missile and drone sites, coastal surveillance sites and air defense sites, according to two U.S. officials.
The strikes are expected to be much larger in scope and scale than the U.S. attacks on Iran in late June, according to a U.S. official.
Last month's strikes were also launched in response to Iranian aggression in the Strait of Hormuz, but officials said that more limited military action then was designed to avoid upending the memorandum of understanding with Iran.
-ABC News' Shannon Kingston and Luis Martinez
Iran condemns US strikes
Iran's deputy foreign minister, in a statement published by the FARS news agency, is calling the U.S. strikes on Iran a serious violation of the memorandum of understanding signed last month between the U.S. and Iran.
"Iran will take decisive measures to protect its national interests and security, while issuing a serious warning about the consequences of America's breach of the treaty," the deputy foreign minister said in the statement.
Iranian officials also slammed the U.S. government's decision to revoke a license that authorized the sale of Iranian oil -- a key aspect of the MOU -- following Iran's reported missile strikes on tankers in the Strait of Hormuz.
US launches 'powerful' airstrikes in response to Iranian attacks in Strait of Hormuz, CENTCOM says
U.S. forces are carrying out "powerful" airstrikes against Iran in response to earlier Iranian attacks on vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, U.S. Central Command said.
"U.S. Central Command forces have begun launching a series of powerful strikes against Iran to impose heavy costs for targeting and attacking commercial shipping crewed by innocent civilians in an international waterway," CENTCOM said in a social media post. "The U.S. strikes are in response to Iranian attacks on three commercial vessels that were transiting the Strait of Hormuz. Iran’s demonstrated aggression was unwarranted, dangerous, and a clear violation of the ceasefire."