US forces strike IRGC targets in Iran, CENTCOM says

U.S. forces conducted a new round of strikes Tuesday against Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, U.S. Central Command announced.

The strikes started at noon ET following attempted attacks by the IRGC against commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and against American service members deployed to the region.

CENTCOM said targets included “air defense sites, radar systems, maritime assets and facilities, mine laying capabilities, and communications sites.”

“The United States is, as we speak, striking Iranian Targets near the Strait of Hormuz. The strikes are large and powerful, and in retaliation for the Iranians’ failed attempt at adding sea mines to the Strait,” President Donald Trump said in a post on Truth Social.

The latest strikes come after Iran said Monday that it had launched ballistic missiles and drones at military bases hosting U.S. forces in the Middle East in retaliation for American strikes on an Iranian island in the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran called the attacks retaliation for U.S. strikes Sunday on Larak Island.

CENTCOM, which oversees military activity in the Middle East, confirmed that it had taken “limited, precise action” against Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps forces that were attempting to lay mines in the strait.

The exchange marked a renewed flare-up in direct fighting between the United States and Iran after weeks of relative calm in the war, which is now in its seventh month.

Sunday’s attack marked the first known U.S. strike on Iran since July 29, when CENTCOM said it carried out a “heavy wave of strikes” against Iranian military targets following attempted attacks on U.S. forces a day earlier.

Since then, the Trump administration has planned to embark on a campaign to drive Iran to the negotiating table by squeezing its economy.

The conflict, which began Feb. 28, has seen more than 750 U.S. service members wounded in action and 18 killed during the war, according to the Pentagon’s latest casualty count.

CENTCOM said last week that it had cleared Iranian sea mines from international transit routes in the Strait of Hormuz.

Defense officials face scrutiny over the impact of extended deployments on troop morale, especially following reports about mental health concerns and other quality-of-life issues faced by the crew of USS Abraham Lincoln.

The aircraft carrier was ordered home recently after a nearly nine-month deployment to the region.

Members of the 82nd Airborne Division sent to the Middle East this spring have had their overseas tours extended into next year, families were told over the weekend.