US Strikes Iran for Ninth Day as Hormuz Tensions Rise

US forces carried out strikes on Iran for the ninth straight day on Monday as concerns increased over shipping through the Strait of Hormuz after Iran claimed two oil tankers had exploded and become stranded.

The US Central Command said it had launched “a new wave of strikes” to reduce Iran’s ability to attack commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz. It did not provide further details.

The fighting has continued after a ceasefire agreement reached last month collapsed. The conflict has increased tensions in the Strait of Hormuz, raising concerns about global energy supplies and inflation.

Iran’s Tasnim news agency reported that US missiles hit several Iranian cities early Monday, including Tabriz, Chabahar, Konarak, Bandar Mahshahr and Bandar Imam Khomeini.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the United States would continue targeting Iran as long as it attacked commercial shipping. He said, “The Strait of Hormuz are international waterways,” adding that the US remains open to a diplomatic solution.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it carried out a strike on “the enemy’s special operations headquarters in Syria’s Al-Tanf area.” It also claimed to have targeted US aircraft at Jordan’s Aqaba airport with ballistic missiles.

Iran also said it had earlier launched drone attacks on US military sites in Kuwait. Kuwait said one of its desalination plants was attacked for a second day, causing a fire.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations reported that a vessel was on fire near the coast of Oman, but the cause was not confirmed.

The IRGC claimed that two oil tankers exploded after using what it called an unsafe southern route through the Strait of Hormuz. Reuters said it could not independently verify the claim. Iran warned that the waterway would remain unsafe while US “aggression” continues.

Shipping data showed that only four vessels passed through the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday, down from eight the previous day.

The US military also said one American service member was killed in northern Iraq during the controlled disposal of explosives found on a downed Iranian drone. It added that the total number of US military personnel killed since the conflict began has reached 17, while more than 420 others have been wounded.

The conflict began on February 28 after the US and Israel launched attacks on Iran, saying they aimed to weaken Tehran’s nuclear and missile programs. Since then, thousands of people, mostly in Iran and Lebanon, have been killed.