By Ayo Kehinde
The United States has launched a fresh wave of military strikes against Iran, targeting missile and drone storage facilities, coastal radar installations and other military infrastructure, after accusing Tehran of repeatedly violating a ceasefire agreement and attacking commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.
US President, Donald Trump, announced the operation, warning that the Islamic Republic could be “wiped out of existence” if it continued what Washington described as acts of aggression.
In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump said US aircraft had struck Iranian missile and drone storage locations and coastal radar sites after Tehran allegedly violated the ceasefire once again.
“United States aircraft just struck Iranian missile and drone storage locations, and coastal radar sites, for violating the Cease Fire Agreement, AGAIN! It is very possible that they will never learn. There may come a point when we are no longer able to be reasonable, and will be forced to militarily complete the job that we very successfully started. If that happens, the Islamic Republic of Iran will no longer exist”, Trump wrote.
The latest strikes followed an announcement by the US Central Command (CENTCOM), which said American forces had carried out additional attacks on multiple Iranian military targets in direct response to continued attacks on commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
According to CENTCOM, Iran had earlier been given an opportunity to comply with the ceasefire after US retaliatory strikes linked to an attack on the cargo vessel M/V Ever Lovely. However, Iranian forces allegedly launched another one-way attack drone that struck the Panama-flagged oil tanker M/T Kiku at about 4:30 a.m. local time on Saturday.
The tanker, carrying more than two million barrels of crude oil, was sailing near the Strait of Hormuz when it was hit. No casualties were immediately reported.
CENTCOM said the latest US operation targeted Iranian military surveillance infrastructure, communications systems, air defence sites, drone storage facilities and mine-laying capabilities.
“Commercial vessel transits through the Strait of Hormuz continue. US forces remain vigilant, lethal and ready”, the Command said in a statement.
The renewed military action marks a sharp escalation despite the ceasefire agreement reached between Washington and Tehran on June 17. Under the understanding, Iran had committed to ensuring the safe passage of commercial vessels through the strategically important Strait of Hormuz.
Hours before the US confirmed the strikes, Iran’s Fars News Agency reported that residents in the coastal Taharouyeh region of Sirik heard several explosions. Similar reports emerged from Qeshm Island, where residents also reported loud blasts. Iranian authorities initially said the precise locations and causes of the explosions were unknown.
Responding to the attacks, the naval command of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) dismissed the US operation as “blind strikes” and insisted that Tehran remained firmly in control of the Strait of Hormuz.
“America’s blind strikes on Sirik will not undermine our control over the Strait. But our strikes against violators serve as a reminder to other vessels of the proper route for safe passage”, the IRGC said in a statement posted on X.
The elite force also issued a fresh threat against American military installations across the Gulf.
“As for US bases in the region, that is a separate matter. They will experience hell in the days ahead”, the statement warned.
Meanwhile, a US official disclosed that there had been no reported American casualties or significant damage to US military facilities following Iran’s recent missile and drone attacks targeting Bahrain and Kuwait.
The official said the situation remained fluid and continued to be closely monitored.
