United States forces have attacked Iranian “command centers” in response after Iranian forces launched missiles, drones, and fast boats against US destroyers transiting the Strait of Hormuz. This was reported by the Central Command, responsible for the US military deployment in the Middle East, regarding what appears to be one of the most serious incidents between the two adversary countries since the ceasefire came into effect on April 8. Iran, in turn, has accused the United States of violating the truce, one day before the 48-hour deadline in which Washington expects Iran to respond to the new memorandum on the possible end of the conflict.
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According to the Central Command statement, Iranian forces launched “multiple missiles, drones, and small boats” against the destroyers Truxtun, Rafael Peralta, and Mason, while these warships were crossing the international maritime route connecting the Strait of Hormuz with the Gulf of Oman.
The statement specifies that, in response, US forces “attacked Iranian military facilities responsible for the attack against US forces.” US military “eliminated threats directed against them and attacked Iranian military facilities responsible for attacking US forces, including drone and missile launch sites; command and control centers, and reconnaissance, intelligence, and surveillance points.”
“Central Command does not seek escalation but remains alert and in position to protect US forces,” the statement notes.
The Iranian army, for its part, denounced that the United States had violated the ceasefire with an attack on two vessels near the Strait of Hormuz, one of them an Iranian tanker, and declared that it had in turn launched barrages of projectiles against US military ships in retaliation. In a statement collected by the Tasnim agency, spokespeople from the General Headquarters of Jatam al Anbiya declared that the US attack occurred against a tanker departing from the Iranian coast heading to the strait, in the waters of the Jask region, and against another ship crossing that bottleneck near the port of Fuyaira, in the United Arab Emirates, reports EFE.
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According to the Iranian Army, the United States also launched attacks “in cooperation with countries in the region” against “civilian areas” in the coastal areas of Bandar Jamir, Sirik, and Qeshm Island. The Iranian Army “immediately responded by attacking US military ships in the eastern Strait of Hormuz, south of the port of Chabahar, causing significant damage.”
Although the accounts from both sides point to one of the most serious incidents since the ceasefire came into effect, the President of the United States, Donald Trump — who claims that the two countries could reach an agreement very soon — has downplayed the situation and, in statements to the ABC television network, assured that the ceasefire remains in place.
In a message on his social network, Truth, the president described the incident as an absolute victory for US troops. The destroyers, he notes, “successfully transited to exit the Strait of Hormuz under enemy fire.” “The three destroyers suffered no damage, but the Iranian attackers suffered great damage. They were completely destroyed, as were numerous boats, which are being used to replace the Navy that we have completely decapitated.”
The president lashes out at the Iranian regime, which he accuses of being led by “lunatics,” and again threatens Tehran to sign a peace agreement or else suffer bombings far deadlier than those that have taken place during the two months of war. “If they had the chance to use a nuclear weapon they would, without a doubt, but they will never have that opportunity, and just as we have beaten them today, we will beat them much harder, and with much more violence, in the future if they do not sign a QUICK Agreement,” he pointed out.
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