US Strikes Iran Again to Limit Strait of Hormuz Attacks

The United States commenced new strikes against Iran just after midnight Finnish time, with Centcom, the U.S. military command in the Middle East, citing the same justifications as earlier in the week. The primary objective is to degrade Iran's capability to launch attacks against civilian and commercial vessels navigating the critical Strait of Hormuz.

During the previous night, U.S. forces targeted approximately 140 Iranian military sites. This action follows a series of Iranian attacks over the weekend targeting U.S. military installations in Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, and Qatar, significantly heightening regional tensions. The conflict, which began in late February, has centered on the Strait of Hormuz, a vital chokepoint for global trade, particularly oil exports.

Iran has declared the strait closed "until further notice." However, the United States maintains that the waterway remains open to traffic. On Saturday, Iran reported firing a warning shot at a vessel traversing an "unauthorized route." This incident underscores the volatile situation in the region.

Further complicating the maritime situation, India reported one of its citizens missing following an attack on the container ship GFS Galaxy. Rescuers successfully saved 23 crew members from another vessel, the Cyprus-flagged container ship, which the crew had to abandon due to a fire. Iran also stated on Sunday that it had intercepted another vessel.

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Iran on sanonut sulkeneensa salmen, mutta Yhdysvaltain mukaan se on avoinna liikenteelle.