US Announces Strikes on Iranian Targets Near the Strait of Hormuz

The United States has begun striking targets linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps near the Strait of Hormuz, opening a new phase in the confrontation around the vital waterway.

US Central Command announced that American forces began hitting Revolutionary Guard targets at 6 p.m. Italian time. It said the attacks followed recent attempts by the Guard to attack merchant shipping in the strait and US military personnel in the region.

The announcement came as Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian met Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Kyrgyzstan. It was their first face-to-face meeting since the Israeli-American attack on Feb. 28 that began the war in the Persian Gulf.

“

This demonstrates that ours is a strategic relationship; it is not an ordinary relationship.

Pezeshkian thanked Putin for Russia’s positions during the fighting, over sanctions imposed by the United States and at the United Nations and other international forums. “This demonstrates that ours is a strategic relationship; it is not an ordinary relationship,” he said.

Putin responded with public support for Iran. “Russia stands in solidarity with the Iranian people; we admire your courage and determination in the struggle for your national interests,” he said, according to the Kremlin.

“

Russia stands in solidarity with the Iranian people; we admire your courage and determination in the struggle for your national interests.