WNAM MONITORING: The United States launched several waves of strikes on Iran on Sunday over an Iranian attack on a container ship in the Strait of Hormuz that set it ablaze and left a crew member missing earlier in the weekend.
Iran condemned the latest US attacks, saying they had “rendered futile” months of diplomatic efforts aimed at ending the conflict.
“The US regime has also caused the return of insecurity in the Strait of Hormuz and disruption of international commercial shipping by openly interfering in the process of Iran implementing the necessary arrangements in the Strait of Hormuz,” Iran’s foreign ministry said in a statement.
Despite the escalating military confrontation, commercial traffic continued through the strategic waterway. Over the past 24 hours, about 20 commercial vessels transited the Strait of Hormuz in coordination with the US military, while several others made the passage independently, Axios reported, citing a US official.
The latest US salvo began at 2100 GMT on Sunday, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said on X, adding that President Donald Trump “has directed the strikes to hold Iranian forces accountable.”
Iran responded with attacks on Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Jordan and Oman — the nation on the opposite side of the strait with which Tehran has been negotiating over the management of shipping traffic.
The US military said it was seeking “to degrade” Iran’s ability to attack commercial ships transiting the waterway. The statement followed a third round of strikes late Sunday and into Monday.
Iranian state media acknowledged the latest attacks early Monday, reporting explosions in several locations.
The first wave of US strikes on Sunday morning came in response to Iran’s attack a day earlier on a Cyprus-flagged container ship in the strategic waterway. Iran’s retaliatory attacks on Gulf states hosting US military forces further intensified the conflict, leaving negotiations between Tehran and Washington on the verge of collapse.
The US struck again later Sunday. The governor of Qeshm Island near the strait told Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency that projectiles targeted military facilities without causing casualties. Explosions were also reported in Bandar Abbas and Hajjiabad.
A US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the strikes targeted missile batteries, air defense systems and boats belonging to Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard.
Iran and the US are nearing the halfway point of a 60-day interim agreement intended to pave the way for a permanent end to the war. The Strait of Hormuz — a critical route for global oil and natural gas shipments — has become a major sticking point in negotiations now at risk of unraveling.
“A return to full-scale hostilities would have catastrophic consequences,” United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said in a statement.
