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The United States Central Command (CENTCOM) launched a new wave of military attacks against Iran on Sunday at 5 p.m. Eastern Time, by direct order of President Donald Trump, with the declared objective of neutralizing Iran's ability to attack civilian sailors and commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.
According to the official statement from CENTCOM on X, "the forces of the U.S. Central Command began launching more attacks against Iran to further degrade its ability to attack civilian sailors and commercial vessels that transit freely through the Strait of Hormuz. The Commander in Chief has ordered the attacks to hold Iranian forces accountable."
This is the third round of attacks carried out by Washington in less than a week.
The previous one concluded this Saturday the 11th, when the U.S. struck approximately 140 military targets in Iranian territory.
In total, the three rounds have reached over 300 targets, including missile and drone installations, naval capabilities, ammunition depots, communication networks, and coastal surveillance posts.
The trigger for this new escalation was Iran's violation of a ceasefire signed in June 2026, which included the reopening of the strait and the commencement of denuclearization negotiations.
Iran attacked commercial ships between July 6 and July 7, including a tanker that caught fire on July 7 after being hit by an Iranian projectile. Trump declared the truce "over" on July 8 and ordered massive bombings against over 80 targets on July 9.
Iran responded with missiles and drones against U.S. facilities in Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, and Jordan.
This Sunday, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced the closure of the Strait of Hormuz "until further notice," a statement that directly contradicts Washington's stance.
CENTCOM rejected that narrative with an official infographic: "The Strait of Hormuz is open to all ships seeking to transit it legally. Iran does not control the strait. Traffic is flowing."
The Central Command claimed to have facilitated the transit of over 800 ships and 400 million barrels of crude oil in the past two months, with more than 140 vessels crossing the strait in the last seven days.
Meanwhile, CENTCOM denied a claim from Iranian propaganda stating that three U.S. soldiers had died in Kuwait as a result of counterattacks.
"There are zero reports of deaths or injuries among U.S. personnel in the region. All personnel are accounted for," stated Central Command.
The context of the escalation also includes a high-level security alert: on July 10, Israel alerted the U.S. about a supposed Iranian plan to eliminate Trump, information that the president himself publicly acknowledged. "They want to eliminate the leader of the U.S., which is me. I'm on any list," Trump stated on July 8.
The conflict has its roots in Operation Epic Fury, launched on February 28, 2026, by joint forces from the U.S. and Israel, which eliminated the Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei and destroyed 90% of Iran's missile arsenal and 95% of its drones.
Despite the escalation, Washington and Tehran were holding technical talks aimed at reaching a nuclear agreement before mid-August 2026, according to sources cited in the context of the conflict.
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