The United States has launched a fresh wave of military strikes against Iran, hitting more than 80 targets in what it described as an immediate response to Tehran’s alleged attacks on commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz.

The operation was carried out on 7 July and announced by US Central Command, which said precision munitions were used to degrade Iran’s ability to threaten international shipping.

According to CENTCOM, the strikes targeted Iranian air defence systems, command-and-control networks, coastal radar sites, anti-ship missile capabilities, and more than 60 Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps small boats operating in and near the Strait of Hormuz.

The US military accused Iran of recently striking three commercial vessels—the Marshall Islands-flagged M/T Al Rekayyat, the Saudi Arabia-flagged M/T Wedyan, and the Liberian-flagged M/T Cyprus Prosperity. Washington called these actions a dangerous violation of the ceasefire and a direct threat to freedom of navigation.

Iranian state media reported that explosions were recorded across several locations, including Qeshm Island and the port cities of Sirik and Bandar Abbas. Fires broke out at Shahid Haqqani Port in Bandar Abbas and at the pier in Sirik following the raids. However, Iranian authorities insisted that no civilian casualties had been reported so far, according to the Governor of Hormozgan province.

The strikes coincided with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian’s return from Iraq, where he had attended the funeral of former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Najaf. Pezeshkian departed Iraq in the early hours of Wednesday and returned to Tehran as the US operation unfolded.

In addition to the military action, Washington revoked a general licence that had authorised the sale of Iranian oil. The US Treasury Department said Tehran’s behaviour in the Strait of Hormuz was wholly unacceptable and would have consequences. This decision reversed the temporary suspension of sanctions agreed under the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding signed on 18 June, which had allowed Iranian crude oil and petroleum sales until 21 August.

Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the move, calling it a violation of Article 10 of the Islamabad MoU. Tehran’s state broadcaster IRIB claimed that the Qatari oil tanker Al-Raqayat was targeted after attempting to transit through the Omani route with US Navy support, ignoring repeated Iranian warnings. IRIB further emphasised that the situation in the Strait of Hormuz would not return to its previous state after the US strikes, warning that vessels must follow Iranian-announced routes or risk their security.

The UK Maritime Trade Operations confirmed that three tankers had reported being struck by unidentified projectiles in and near the Strait of Hormuz, though no party has claimed responsibility. The escalation has raised concerns over the stability of the ceasefire and the future of maritime security in one of the world’s most critical energy corridors.

ANI