The United States military campaign against Iran is heating up again. Tuesday marked the largest U.S. attack on Iran since fighting paused in late July.
U.S. Central Command claimed it hit a slew of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) military assets overnight following Iranian attempts to target commercial vessels and American forces in and near the Strait of Hormuz.
A U.S. Navy F/A-18F and F-35, both assigned to Air Test and Evaluation Squadron (VX) 9, fly over the Point Mugu Sea Range in Southern California with a U.S. Air Force F-15 during Gray Flag 2024 on Sept. 24, 2024. Gray Flag is an annual large-force test event that brings the joint force together to test and evaluate multi-domain systems in a maritime environment, ensuring our nation’s warfighters are equipped with effective, interoperable systems that will help them deter aggression, protect our nation’s prosperity and security, and return home safely to their families. (U.S. Navy photo by Lt. Cmdr. Kory Hughs)
(Dec. 7, 2024) LT Steven Holcomb, attached to the Gunslingers of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 105, operates a F/A-18E Super Hornet on the flight deck during flight operations, Dec. 7, 2024. USS George H.W. Bush is in the basic phase of the Optimized Fleet Response Plan conducting flight deck certification.(U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Jayden Brown)
The IRGC is listed as a foreign terrorist group by the U.S. government, and it extensively funds and trains terror proxies across the Middle East.
Engine Rooms Set Ablaze
On Tuesday, Axios reported that the attacks, which involved some 100 targets, went beyond what CENTCOM publicly announced.
U.S. officials revealed to the online magazine that American drones had fired missiles into the engine rooms of a pair of Iranian state tankers off the Iranian coast.
The attacks were authorized as part of a new policy approved by President Donald Trump to deter Tehran from attacking tankers moving through the strait.
One official alleged that President Donald Trump had greenlit the hits under a new “tanker for tanker” policy.
U.S. operations on Iranian shipping had principally involved enforcing Washington’s naval blockade.
100 Targets Hit
Anti-ship cruise missile and drone launchers, radar installations, communications sites and equipment potentially used to lay mines were part of Tuesday’s barrage.
One U.S. official told the outlet that the aim was to “mow the lawn” by destroying capabilities Iran rebuilds around the strait.
“They tried to rebuild their radar because they can’t see anything,” Trump recently said in a Fox News interview. “We waited until it was almost built and then we hit it.”
Throughout the fighting, some 40 ships were reportedly moved into or out of the strategic strait on Tuesday.
Kpler figures officially recorded a mere four commodity vessels transiting in the strait during the same period.
Such figures obviously fail to account for ships traveling with their Automatic Identification System (AIS) transponders turned off.
13 Ballistic Missiles Pierce Jordanian Airspace
13 Iranian ballistic missiles penetrated Jordan on Tuesday. Its armed forces claimed it intercepted 10, while three landed in sparsely populated areas.
Iran also fired drones or missiles toward U.S. facilities in Iraq, Bahrain, and Kuwait.
The IRGC subsequently claimed Iran would deliver “crushing and devastating blows” against the U.S.
Trump has also threatened a wider campaign against Iran in response.
“If the failed Nation of Iran retaliates,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, it would be hit at a “much harder and higher level.”
Later Tuesday, Trump appeared increasingly dismissive of a negotiated settlement.
“I couldn’t care less if they sign a worthless, to them, agreement,” he wrote, claiming Washington now had “almost total control of the Hormuz Strait” before asking: “When are the Iranian people going to rise up and fight?”
U.S. Denies Targeting Civilians
Iranian officials claimed that an American strike hit a house hosting a wedding ceremony in Kuhestak, Hormozgan province, killing five people, including a child, and injuring at least 68.
Iranian authorities also claimed that a U.S. strike hit a home hosting a wedding in Sirik in southern Iran.
The Iranian Red Crescent said four people, including two children, were killed and dozens injured. CENTCOM said it was aware of the allegations but insisted that the U.S. military “never targets civilians.” The Iranian regime and its global terror proxies have been involved in extensive campaigns against civilian targets.
Tehran’s Demands
These attacks were launched mere hours after Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian publicly offered to return to the interim ceasefire agreed in June.
“If the U.S. returns to its commitments in the memorandum of understanding, the Islamic Republic of Iran will immediately reciprocate,” Pezeshkian claimed on Tuesday.
Tehran continues to stress that a full restoration of pre-war conditions in the Hormuz would require Washington’s agreement with demands linked to June’s expired “Memorandum of Understanding.
On Wednesday, Argus Media summarized these demands as including: “lifting sanctions, releasing Iranian funds frozen under the sanctions and ending what it describes as a US naval blockade,” along with “an end to Israeli strikes on Lebanon and US strikes against Iranian-aligned groups in the Mideast Gulf.”
Brent futures also climbed as high as $97.04 a barrel Wednesday, their highest level since July 24, before easing to around $94. West Texas Intermediate reached $92.29 before slipping back toward $89.50.
About the Author: Georgia Gilholy
Georgia Gilholy is a journalist based in the United Kingdom who has been published in Newsweek, The Times of Israel, and the Spectator. Gilholy writes about international politics, culture, and education.
