U.S. warships transit Strait of Hormuz as Iran fires missiles
Two U.S. military vessels crossed the Strait of Hormuz under Project Freedom, an operation to clear blocked commercial shipping, as Iran claimed missile strikes.
The U.S. military struck an Iranian military facility Wednesday, targeting a site deemed a threat to American forces and commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
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The U.S. military carried out another round of strikes on Iran on Wednesday, a U.S. official confirmed, marking a fresh challenge to a shaky ceasefire between the two countries.
The official described the strikes as defensive, targeting a military site that threatened American forces and commercial maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz. According to Reuters, citing a U.S. official, drones launched from Iran were also intercepted by American forces during the operation.
A U.S. official told CBS News that the U.S.-Iran ceasefire is still considered to be holding despite the new strikes. The official characterized the action as necessary to protect American interests in the region.
The strikes came just two days after U.S. Central Command confirmed an earlier round of "self-defense strikes" on southern Iran on Monday. Those strikes targeted missile launch sites and Iranian boats that allegedly sought to lay mines. CENTCOM spokesperson Capt. Tim Hawkins said the earlier strikes were carried out to "protect our troops from threats posed by Iranian forces."
Iran condemned the earlier strikes, calling the move a "grave violation of the ceasefire" and vowing that the Iranian government "will not leave any act of hostility unanswered." The Iranian government's response to the latest strikes has not yet been reported.
U.S. Central Command and the Pentagon did not immediately provide comment on the Wednesday strikes. Reuters was first to report on the new military action.
Two U.S. military vessels crossed the Strait of Hormuz under Project Freedom, an operation to clear blocked commercial shipping, as Iran claimed missile strikes.
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