The United States military has launched a new wave of attacks against Iran for the seventh consecutive night, aiming to "weaken Iranian military capabilities," according to the U.S. Central Command (Centcom).
The strikes, which began at 8:00 PM Lisbon time, are carried out under orders from U.S. President Donald Trump. This military escalation started the previous Saturday, following Trump's rescission of a memorandum of understanding with Iran, citing Iranian attacks on commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.
The United States has also re-established a naval blockade of Iranian ports and ships in the Strait of Hormuz. Centcom reported that since the blockade was reinstated, American forces have diverted four merchant ships, disabled one, and boarded another in the area. Centcom stated that U.S. forces remain vigilant and are rigorously enforcing the naval blockade against Iran.
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, however, asserted it maintains "total control" of the Strait of Hormuz and warned that as long as U.S. actions continue, "not a single drop of oil or gas will be exported from this region." The conflict intensified after the failure of a memorandum of understanding negotiated in June, which began on February 28th with a joint offensive by the U.S. and Israel against Iran.
