US Central Command (CENTCOM) has stated that its forces have struck approximately 90 Iranian military targets as part of a new round of attacks on Iran.
In a statement published on 9 July, CENTCOM reported that US forces had carried out strikes aimed at further undermining Iran’s ability to attack commercial shipping and civilian seafarers in the Strait of Hormuz.
This marks the second consecutive night of strikes. The previous evening, the command reported that it had attacked around 80 Iranian military targets, including more than 60 vessels belonging to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
The US military stated that the operation was intended to inflict significant damage on Iran for breaching the ceasefire agreement following its attack on three commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.
The Speaker of the Iranian Parliament and chief negotiator with the United States, Mohammad Bakir Kalibaf, stated that “America has still not understood that intimidation and breaking promises no longer come without a price”.
“Let me be clear: if you attack, you will be struck,” he wrote in a post on X, adding that the Strait of Hormuz would remain open only on the condition of an agreement with Iran, and not through “American threats”.
Alongside the military strikes, the US Treasury Department revoked its authorisation for the sale of Iranian oil, reinstating sanctions that had been suspended under a memorandum of understanding signed last month.
A US official told Radio Free Europe that this decision reflects the administration’s long-standing position that any economic relief is contingent upon Iran’s compliance with the terms.
The US strikes on Iran and Washington’s decision on Iranian oil mark the most serious crisis since the United States and Iran signed a 60-day memorandum of understanding (MoU) last month, aimed at ending hostilities and reopening the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most vital sea lanes.