CENTCOM says it hit 10 targets ‘in and near the Strait of Hormuz’ in retaliation for drone attack on Panama-flagged tanker; IRGC responds by hitting US assets in Kuwait, Bahrain.
WASHINGTON — US President Donald Trump said Saturday that the Islamic Republic of Iran will “no longer exist” if the United States is “forced” to resume the war, as he accused Tehran of violating a ceasefire by striking ships in the Strait of Hormuz. The threat came after US forces said they struck “multiple” Iranian targets Saturday in another tit-for-tat response to attacks on shipping in the vital Strait of Hormuz. “United States aircraft just struck Iranian missile and drone storage locations, and coastal radar sites, for violating the Cease Fire Agreement, AGAIN!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“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. US Central Command said the strikes were in response to an Iranian drone attack on the Panama-flagged oil tanker Kiku, which was carrying some two million barrels of crude.
The US military said the latest response targeted “surveillance infrastructure, communication systems, air defense sites, drone storage facilities, and minelayer capabilities.”In total, it said it hit 10 Iranian military targets “at multiple locations in and near the Strait of Hormuz.” Iranian media reported several explosions in the Sirik and Qeshm areas of southern Iran.In the wake of the strikes, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps also accused the US of violating the terms of the ceasefire, announcing that its navy and aerospace forces had launched joint missile and drone attacks targeting US military sites in Kuwait and Bahrain in retaliation. (Read More)
