US strikes Iran for 9th day; IRGC say Hormuz to remain unsafe amid 'aggression'

US forces struck Iran for the ninth day in a row on Monday, escalating tensions over shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. Iran announced that two oil tankers had been immobilized after explosions, warning that the waterway would remain unsafe as long as US "aggression" continued.

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The Strait of Hormuz is an international waterway, and they continue to launch against the ships in that international waterway. As long as Iran insists on controlling an international waterway, we’re gonna have to respond to that. The US always remains open to a diplomatic solution.

US Central Command stated the strikes targeted Iranian military command centers, air defense sites, and maritime capabilities to reduce Iran's ability to attack commercial vessels. These actions are part of a cycle of attacks that began after an interim ceasefire agreement unraveled a month prior, intensifying a struggle for control over the Strait of Hormuz, a critical route for energy supplies.

Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency reported explosions in several Iranian cities, including Tabriz and Bandar Mahshahr. Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio asserted that the US would continue targeting Iran as long as it attacked global commercial shipping. "The Strait of Hormuz is an international waterway, and they continue to launch against the ships in that international waterway," Rubio said, adding that the US remains open to a diplomatic solution.

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Iranian military command centres, air defense and coastal surveillance sites, maritime capabilities, missile and drone launch sites, and communications networks to further diminish Iran’s ability to attack commercial vessels and civilian mariners transiting the Strait of Hormuz.

In response, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed to have launched a surprise strike against an "enemy's special operations headquarters" in Syria's Al-Tanf area. They also reported targeting US aircraft at Jordan's Aqaba airport with ballistic missiles. Earlier, Iran conducted a drone attack on US military assets in Kuwait, which Kuwait's government described as a direct strike on vital civilian infrastructure.

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the enemy’s special operations headquarters in Syria’s Al-Tanf area