U.S. Forces Have Assisted the Transit of 900 Commercial Ships and 450 Million Barrels of Crude Oil Through the Strait of Hormuz Since May
The U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) announced early Tuesday, Jordan time, that it had carried out a new round of strikes against Iran, marking the tenth consecutive night of military operations.
In a statement, CENTCOM said U.S. forces targeted Iranian military command centers, naval capabilities, missile and drone launch sites, and air defense systems in an effort to degrade Iran’s ability to continue attacking commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz.
The command added that commercial shipping through the vital international waterway remains uninterrupted, noting that since the beginning of May, U.S. forces have helped secure the passage of approximately 900 commercial vessels carrying around 450 million barrels of crude oil.
CENTCOM said its forces would remain prepared to hold Iran accountable for any “unprovoked aggression” against civilian mariners seeking to transit the Strait of Hormuz safely and freely.
U.S. officials indicated that President Donald Trump is expected to decide in the coming days whether to expand military operations against Iran and resume large-scale combat, according to Fox News, while emphasizing that no final decision has yet been made.
The war began on February 28, when Israel and the United States launched attacks on Iran, prompting Tehran to close the Strait of Hormuz, which before the conflict served as the primary transit route for nearly one-fifth of the world’s energy supplies.
The Strait of Hormuz remains one of the central flashpoints in the conflict. Iran’s control over the strategic waterway has provided it with significant leverage, effectively giving Tehran a powerful geopolitical bargaining tool.
