U.S. forces carried out strikes against Iran on Tuesday after Iran targeted three commercial shipping vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz.
Iranian attacks followed by a U.S. military response have been a repetitive cycle since President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire on April 7, and it has persisted even after the two sides signed a memorandum of understanding last month for how they would move forward in negotiating a lasting agreement.
“U.S. Central Command forces have begun launching a series of powerful strikes against Iran to impose heavy costs for targeting and attacking commercial shipping crewed by innocent civilians in an international waterway,” U.S. Central Command said in a statement. “The U.S. strikes are in response to Iranian attacks on three commercial vessels that were transiting the Strait of Hormuz. Iran’s demonstrated aggression was unwarranted, dangerous, and a clear violation of the ceasefire.”
The Treasury Department also rescinded temporary sanctions waivers that permitted Iran to export oil on Tuesday, before the U.S. strikes. The department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control’s decision ends a 60-day general license issued on June 21 that permitted the production, sale, delivery, and transport of Iranian crude oil and petroleum products.
