UpdateUS strikes Iran again as UAE tankers come under attack in Hormuz
Iran’s Guards target US facilities in the region and two tankers associated with the United Arab Emirates travelling through the strait
US Central Command said it began strikes at Trump’s direction just after the US president told the “Hugh Hewitt Show” that Iran would be hit “very hard tonight, and we’re going to hit them hard tomorrow. And there’s not a damn thing they can do about it”. He later told reporters at the White House that the US was attacking Iranian capabilities in the strait.
The UAE Ministry of Defence later said Iranian cruise missiles struck two Emirati oil tankers, the Mombasa and Al Bahiyah, while transiting the southern lane of the strait in Omani territorial waters, wounding one crew member and injuring eight others.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency said a tanker had been hit by an unknown projectile while travelling 40 nautical miles northeast of Oman’s Qalhat and that all crew were safe.
Reuters could not immediately verify whether the UKMTO report referred to the same incident as the one reported by the UAE Ministry of Defence. Iran has not commented on the latest attacks.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said two “offending” supertankers had been hit and disabled in the strait after ignoring repeated warnings and turning off navigation systems, Iranian media reported.