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Alsharq Tribune- Al Otaify
The US military said on Sunday it completed a new round of strikes in Iran aimed at preventing Tehran from attacking shipping in the vital Strait of Hormuz.
"CENTCOM forces struck Iranian military air-defense systems, coastal radar sites, missile and drone capabilities, and small boats using US fighter aircraft, naval vessels, one-way attack aerial drones, and one-way attack sea drones for the first time," the US military said in a post on X.
The US and Iran each asserted Monday they controlled the Strait of Hormuz.
“The Strait of Hormuz is a vital maritime corridor for global trade,” Central Command said. “Iran does not control it.” Iran's Revolutionary Guard sharply rejected America's statement.
“The Strait of Hormuz is our territory, and we will not allow a rogue and child-killing army from the other side of the world to continue its illegal interference in it,” the Guard said.
The attacks, sparked by Iran striking a container ship Sunday in the strait off the coast of Oman, again underlined that the waterway that once saw a fifth of the world's traded crude oil and natural gas pass through it remained the key issue in negotiations.
The narrow mouth of the Arabian Gulf has seen shipping disrupted since the start of the war as Iran maintained a chokehold on it by attacking commercial vessels around it, intimidating shippers.
Iran and the US are nearly at the midway point of the 60-day period of an interim deal that was supposed to set up talks for a permanent end to the war. Instead, it has devolved into a series of attacks over the strait.
