At 3 p.m. ET today, U.S. Central Command forces began launching an additional round of strikes against Iran to continue degrading Iranian capabilities used to attack commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. The strikes are taking place as American forces prepare to resume the naval blockade against Iranian ports and coastal areas. The blockade goes into effect at 4 p.m. ET.
Brent crude futures have climbed above $81 per barrel, its highest level in weeks, as markets price in growing risks around the Strait of Hormuz.
The surge follows days of Iranian attacks on commercial shipping, three consecutive nights of U.S. strikes on Iranian military targets, and the reinstatement of the U.S. naval blockade of Iran. With commercial traffic through the Strait sharply reduced, investors are adding a larger geopolitical risk premium to global oil prices.
.@POTUS on Iran: "We're not going to put up with it. We are just going forward — we're attacking them tonight. We're taking out all their capability for anything having to do with the Strait... What they're doing is being very foolish, very stupid."
President Trump gave Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman (MBS) his support for a highly unusual military action against the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen, according to U.S. officials - Axios
Available indicators suggest the official U.S. assessment that no personnel were injured during yesterday's Iranian attacks may not be accurate.
A U.S. Air Force C-17 medical evacuation mission transported multiple patients from Jordan to Ramstein Air Base, Germany this morning. Available flight activity indicates the patients did not originate from the same location where the aircraft landed to pick them up, suggesting an earlier movement from another site before strategic evacuation.
While this does not confirm casualties from yesterday's attacks, it is noteworthy given that the Department of Defense and CENTCOM initially reported no casualties following the opening Iranian attacks of Operation EPIC FURY, only to later acknowledge multiple injuries and fatalities nearly 24 hours afterward.
U.S. Air Force E-3B Sentry (77-0351) was tracked operating over Saudi Arabia, supporting airborne early warning and command-and-control operations in the region.
Based on local reports, several explosions have been heard from the coastal areas of Qeshm and Bandar Abbas, appearing to originate from the Strait of Hormuz. Smoke has also been seen rising over Qeshm, though the exact location is unclear
Several local accounts are reporting explosions in the vicinity of the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant on Iran's southern coast.
Separately, there are reports of air defense activity near Mahshahr in southern Iran.
Both reports are currently unverified.
At 7:15 p.m. ET today, U.S. Central Command forces began launching the third round of strikes this week against Iran after Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces blatantly attacked M/V GFS Galaxy, a Cyprus-flagged container ship transiting the Strait of Hormuz. A civilian crew member is missing and the vessel is unable to continue the journey due to an onboard fire and significant engineroom damage.
Iran was provided yet another opportunity to demonstrate adherence to the Memorandum of Understanding after being held accountable for earlier attacks on commercial vessels but has again failed.
In response, the United States is imposing a heavy cost by continuing to degrade Iran’s ability to attack civilian mariners and commercial ships freely transiting the strait. The strikes are being carried out at the direction of the Commander in Chief.
U.S. military is conducting strikes against Iranian targets in the Strait of Hormuz area in response to IRGC attack on commercial ship, U.S. official says