United States Central Command on Sunday announced that it launched a fresh round of military strikes this week after alleging that Iran had attacked a Cyprus-flagged container ship in the Strait of Hormuz. Sources in Iran have reported fresh attacks in the port cities of Bandar Abbas, Sirik, Chabahar, Bandar-e Deyr and Asaluyeh.
The third round of bombings came after Iran’s IRGC declared the critical waterway temporarily closed and said it had fired a warning shot at a ship attempting to transit through what it called an unapproved route.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) has confirmed the attack on a ship and also said that the crew had abandoned the vessel and boarded a lifeboat. It said the confirmation was made by authorities and the ship’s company security officer.
The US’s CENTCOM had previously said that the IRGC had attacked M/V GFS Galaxy, a Cyprus-flagged container ship transiting the Strait of Hormuz. It said a civilian crew member was missing and that the vessel was “unable to continue the journey due to an on-board fire and significant engine room damage”.
Besides US forces carrying out attacks deep inside Iranian territory, explosions were also reported in Hendijan, Mahshahr, and Abadan in Khuzestan province early on Sunday.
Iran, on the other hand, said that it would retaliate against the fresh attacks launched by US forces, an advisor to the spokesman of Iran’s Foreign Ministry, Ali Safari, said, and added that the recent US strikes “will not go unanswered” and accused Washington of failing to implement its commitments under the MoU signed on June 16.
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