Tit-For-Tat
US forces struck Iran's Revolutionary Guards on Tuesday in response to attempted attacks on commercial shipping and American troops, the US military said, with President Donald Trump vowing a tough response to any counter-attacks. Iranian state television reported that several explosions were heard in the country's south along the strategic Strait of Hormuz waterway. The official IRNA news agency said "four projectiles had hit areas within the counties of Chabahar and Konarak."
US Central Command said the strikes followed "recent attempted attacks by (the Guards) against commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and against American service members deployed to the region." Trump said the "large and powerful" strikes were "in retaliation for the Iranians' failed attempt at adding sea mines to the Strait" and "the Iranians shooting eight missiles, all successfully knocked down, at our Military Base in Jordan."
Severe punishment awaits
"If the failed Nation of Iran retaliates for this very justified attack, they will be hit again at a much harder and higher level," Trump said. Revolutionary Guards spokesman Hossein Mohebi warned that Washington "will regret its new attacks," saying "severe punishment awaits the aggressors."
After six months of war, the foes remain at an impasse, with Iran keeping the Strait of Hormuz closed and the United States persisting with a counter-blockade of Iranian ports. On Sunday, the US carried out its first known strikes on Iran in several weeks, hitting an Iranian island in the Strait. Iran responded with missile and drone attacks aimed at Jordan and the UAE. Greek maritime risk management firm Marisks said two crude tankers were hit by "unknown projectiles" late the previous day.
Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian meanwhile vowed Tuesday to match any US move to return to a deal aimed at ending the war, but warned that "a policy of pressure and threats could derail the path of diplomacy."