The United States has launched a second consecutive day of airstrikes against Iran, targeting military installations around the southern city of Sirik and Qeshm Island following another drone attack on a commercial vessel transiting the strategic Strait of Hormuz.
The latest strikes came after a Panama-flagged oil tanker, M/T Kiku, was struck by what U.S. officials described as an Iranian one-way attack drone while navigating the vital shipping lane.
No casualties or oil leakage were reported, but Washington said the attack represented a fresh violation of the fragile ceasefire agreement reached earlier this month.
According to the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), American warplanes targeted Iranian military surveillance infrastructure, communications systems, air defence sites, drone storage facilities and minelaying capabilities in what it described as a direct response to continued Iranian aggression against commercial shipping.
Explosions were reported around Sirik and on Qeshm Island, with Iranian state media confirming that several projectiles struck military areas in the region. Tehran has yet to provide details on casualties but condemned the attacks as another act of aggression.
The renewed military action follows similar U.S. strikes carried out a day earlier after the Singapore-flagged container ship Ever Lovely was allegedly hit by Iranian drones while passing through the Strait of Hormuz.
The latest exchange of fire has heightened fears that the ceasefire brokered between Washington and Tehran is rapidly collapsing, raising fresh concerns over security in the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway through which nearly one-fifth of the world’s oil supply passes.
Despite the escalation, the U.S. military said it remains committed to ensuring safe passage for commercial vessels transiting the Strait, warning that any further attacks on international shipping would be met with decisive action.
