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US launching further strikes on Iran
The US military is launching further attacks on Iran, its Central Command said.
It wrote on X: “At 3 p.m. ET today, U.S. Central Command forces began launching an additional round of strikes against Iran to continue degrading Iranian capabilities used to attack commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
“The strikes are taking place as American forces prepare to resume the naval blockade against Iranian ports and coastal areas. The blockade goes into effect at 4 p.m. ET.”
Iran’s state news agency IRNA is reporting the sound of three consecutive explosions in Bandar Abbas.
Key events
And Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency is now reporting several explosions in Bampur and Chabahar in southern Iran. The exact location of these explosions was not immediately clear.
Per Al Jazeera, the Mehr news agency is quoting the Hormozgan Governorate officials as saying there were no civilian casualties or damage to residential and commercial properties following the latest US attacks on Iran, which included the port city of Bandar Abbas.
Iran’s state-run IRNA earlier reported impacts in the eastern part of Bandar Abbas and several blasts between the city of Sirik and the village of Tahrouyi. Per CNN, IRNA said a location near Sirik was hit at around 11pm local time (3.30pm ET) by “American projectiles”.
The United States is supporting efforts by Iraq and Syria to reconstruct a crude oil pipeline between the two countries, a US state department official said on Tuesday.
In comments reported by Reuters, the official said the US expects American companies to play a role in advancing the reconstruction and rehabilitation of the pipeline, which could help oil producers avoid the strait of Hormuz off the coast of Iran.
Kuwait’s defence ministry has said four Kuwaiti Naval Force personnel were wounded after Iranian attacks targeted a vessel.
It added that Iran launched one ballistic missile, five cruise missiles and 33 drones towards Kuwait on Tuesday, all of which were intercepted.
It said the attacks also targeted civilian infrastructure and that shrapnel fell in various locations across the country, causing material damage.
US resumes naval blockade of Iranian ports
The United States has resumed the naval blockade of Iranian ports as of 4pm ET, with Centcom saying there are “currently more than 20 US Navy warships and hundreds of military aircraft operating across the Middle East”.
The US has issued new Iran-related sanctions and a general license, according to details posted to the Treasury Department’s website.
The sanctions target several individuals, entities and vessels, while the general license allows wind down activities, limited safety and environmental transactions, and the offloading of cargo involving certain persons or vessels blocked on July 14, the Treasury Department said.
The Strait of Hormuz is part of Iran’s national security and it will exercise its sovereignty over it what ever that costs, Iran’s deputy foreign minister Kazem Gharibabadi said in interview with state TV on Tuesday.
Tehran currently has no commitments when it comes to the Islamabad MoU signed with the US last month, Gharibabadi added.
US launching further strikes on Iran
The US military is launching further attacks on Iran, its Central Command said.
It wrote on X: “At 3 p.m. ET today, U.S. Central Command forces began launching an additional round of strikes against Iran to continue degrading Iranian capabilities used to attack commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
“The strikes are taking place as American forces prepare to resume the naval blockade against Iranian ports and coastal areas. The blockade goes into effect at 4 p.m. ET.”
Iran’s state news agency IRNA is reporting the sound of three consecutive explosions in Bandar Abbas.
Iran strikes drone ramp at Kuwaiti airbase
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) says it has struck a drone ramp at Kuwait’s Ali Al Salem airbase, adding the attacks were in response to US strikes.
Kuwait’s army said one of its navy vessels was targeted with four personnel injured, Reuters reports.
The injured personnel received medical treatment and are in a stable condition, the statement added.
Kuwait’s armed forces had detected and intercepted one ballistic missile, five cruise missiles and 33 drones on Tuesday’s attacks, which targeted several vital and civilian facilities, with debris falls caused material damage.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) said as long as US “evil actions” continue in the region, “not a single drop of oil and gas” would be exported from the region, Iranian state media reported.
IRGC also said US “aggressions” would have no result other than to delay the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, adding that their attacks on what it described as U.S. facilities in Kuwait and Bahrain came in response to the White House-ordered attacks on Iran.
