The United States struck an Iranian military ground control site and combated multiple Iranian missile and drone attacks aimed at Kuwait and Bahrain on Tuesday, US Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed.
CENTCOM described the strikes on the Qeshm Island control center as “self-defense strikes,” ordered after American forces shot down three Iranian one-way attack drones aimed at vessels transiting regional waters.
In retaliation, Iran launched multiple missiles at Bahrain and Kuwait. Three were intercepted by US and Bahrain air defenses, and two that were aimed at Kuwait failed before hitting their targets.
A short while later, Iran launched another wave of drones intended to attack US forces in Kuwait. CENTCOM announced that it successfully downed several drones, and no US personnel or assets were harmed during the incident.
US disables tanker headed for Iranian port
Earlier on Tuesday, the US disabled an empty oil tanker attempting to reach an Iranian port, firing a missile into the ship’s engine after the crew failed to comply with directions in the Persian Gulf.
According to CENTCOM, US forces issued repeated warnings to the crew of the Botswana-flagged vessel over the course of 24 hours as it sailed towards Iran’s Kharg Island.
To stop the tanker from reaching Iran, a US aircraft fired a missile into the vessel’s engine room, disabling it.
In a statement on X/Twitter, CENTCOM asserted that this is the sixth commercial vessel disabled by US forces since the blockade of Iranian ports along the Strait of Hormuz went into effect on April 13.
CENTCOM enforces US blockade on Strait of Hormuz
On Friday, CENTCOM took similar measures against a Gambia-flagged vessel in the Gulf of Oman attempting to reach an Iranian port.
In that incident, over 20 warnings were issued to the vessel’s crew before the ship was disabled with a Hellfire missile.
CENTCOM has also recently struck Iranian targets located along the Strait of Hormuz in retaliation for Iran’s downing of a US drone over international waters.
On Monday, CENTCOM announced that it had struck Iranian radar sites and drone command and control sites in Goruk and on Qeshm Island. In the same strikes, American forces also destroyed two one-way attack drones that posed a threat to vessels transiting nearby waters.