The strikes, which began at 4 p.m. EDT, are carried out at President Trump’s direction and are designed to further “degrade Iranian military capabilities used to attack commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz,” the U.S. Central Command (Centcom) said.
U.S. attacks have widened in recent days. Iran has retaliated with strikes on U.S. outposts in the Gulf countries. Three U.S. service members, two in Jordan and one in Iraq, have been killed in the last three days. Kuwaiti armed forces said on Monday that its air defense systems were working to intercept incoming Iranian munitions.
The Pentagon confirmed on Monday that nearly 100 U.S. service members have been wounded since July 7, when the hostilities escalated, and 96 percent of them have returned to duty. The Houthis, an Iranian-backed militant group in Yemen, said they would impose a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia, widening the threat to global oil supplies.