ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The United States carried out its 11th consecutive night of strikes against Iran on Wednesday, targeting Tehran’s military infrastructure in the Strait of Hormuz amid Iranian attacks against US bases in Kuwait.
The US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement on Wednesday the latest operation targeted "Iranian military operations centers, maritime capabilities, aircraft hangars, drone storage facilities, and military logistics infrastructure to further degrade Iran's ability to threaten commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz."
Meanwhile, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it targeted the "US Army at Camp Doha in Kuwait with drone attacks," claiming that the attacks were in response to the "repeated aggressions by the vile enemy against" Iran.
CENTCOM operations mark the 11th consecutive night of attacks after Tehran vowed and carried out attacks targeting civilian infrastructure and American bases in Kuwait, Bahrain, Jordan, and the UAE.
The IRGC responded to Wednesday’s attacks by launching the “21st phase of Operation Saeqeh” targeting "ammunition depots and logistics equipment of the ground forces command center of the criminal US army at Camp Doha in western Kuwait a few hours ago with a heavy volume of suicide (kamikaze) drones," the IRGC said in a statement.
CENTCOM has held Tehran liable for escalating attacks on commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz, the region’s key energy transit hub, through which approximately 20% of the world’s global crude oil shipments pass on their way to global markets.
CENTCOM shared in Wednesday's statement that, "Over the past three months, Iran has attacked more than 30 commercial vessels transiting the international waterway vital for regional and global trade." It added that the attacks had "endangered hundreds of innocent mariners and undermined freedom of navigation."
The US-Iran conflict, which began in late February, has recently reignited after fighting over the Strait of Hormuz led to the collapse of a preliminary agreement between Washington and Tehran. US President Donald Trump has warned that the military campaign is far from over.
"We're not finished at all... we're not leaving right now," Trump said on Tuesday, adding that if US forces withdrew immediately, "it would take Iran 20, 25 years to rebuild."
Despite the hostilities, the US military said the strategic waterway remains operational. "Since early May, CENTCOM forces have helped facilitate the transit of approximately 900 commercial vessels and 450 million barrels of crude oil," the command said.
The latest strikes came as Iranian air defenses were activated in Tehran and other parts of the country early Wednesday, according to Iranian state media, which reported air defense activity in the capital's west, east, and northeast, as well as strikes around the country, including Bushehr, home to a nuclear power plant.
