The US Central Command has announced that it completed another wave of strikes against Iran, adding that more than 50,000 of its service members are currently deployed across the Middle East.
In a post on social media platform X, the military stated that during the five-hour mission, it struck military targets across Iran, including Bushehr, Chah Bahar, Jask, Konarak, Abu Musa, and Bandar Abbas, to further reduce Iran's ability to attack commercial shipping.
"American forces remain vigilant, lethal, and ready," the post added.
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) July 14, 2026
US Central Command said it began strikes at Trump's direction just after Trump told the Hugh Hewitt Show that Iran would be hit "very hard tonight, and we're going to hit them hard tomorrow. And there's not a damn thing they can do about it."
He later told reporters at the White House that the US was attacking Iranian capabilities in the Strait.
The UAE Ministry of Defence later said Iranian cruise missiles struck two Emirati oil tankers, the Mombasa and Al Bahiyah, while transiting the southern lane of the strait in Omani territorial waters, killing one crew member and injuring eight others.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency said a tanker had been hit by an unknown projectile while travelling 40 nautical miles (around 74 km) northeast of Oman's Qalhat and that all crew were safe.
Reuters could not immediately verify whether the UKMTO report referred to the same incident as the one reported by the UAE Ministry of Defense.
Bahrain's air defense systems intercepted and destroyed Iranian aerial attacks over the kingdom, Nabeel Alhamer, media adviser to Bahrain's king, said in posts on X.
The Ministry of Interior also announced that sirens were activated across the country early on Tuesday.
"The Hormuz Strait is open, and will remain open, with or without Iran. We are reinstating the Iranian blockade," Trump had said earlier on Monday on Truth Social.
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