U.S. launches new Iran strikes, reimposes naval blockade
U.S. forces carried out strikes against Iran for a fourth day in a row and reimposed a naval blockade to prevent ships from sailing to or from the country’s ports.
While U.S. President Donald Trump backtracked on his threat to heavily tax ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz, he warned he would expand U.S. strikes on Iran next week to target power plants and bridges if Tehran does not agree to a deal.
“Next week it gets really bad for them because next week comes the power plants. Next week comes the bridges,” Trump said in an interview on Fox News. “We’re going to knock out all their power plants. We’re going to knock out all their bridges unless they get to the table and negotiate.”
US Central Command (CENTCOM) said the latest strikes were aimed at “degrading Iranian capabilities used to attack commercial shipping” in the strait, the key shipping channel for Gulf oil and gas where Tehran has repeatedly carried out attacks on civilian vessels.
– AFP
