The United States has launched new airstrikes against Iran for the sixth day in a row, the U.S. military said, as the two sides fight over sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz.
U.S. Central Command (Centcom) said the attack was “intended to further degrade Iran’s military capabilities” and said it boarded the vessel as part of a blockade of the strait.
Iranian state media reported that American missiles struck Qeshm Island near the strait and areas near Bandar Abbas and Bushehr, where the nuclear power plant is located.
It said the apparent escalation damaged two bridges in Hormozgan province. The BBC confirmed the attack on a bridge west of Bandar Abbas in Hormozgan province.
Earlier this week, US President Donald Trump threatened to attack Iranian bridges and power plants if Tehran did not return to talks.
In April, after President Trump said the United States would bomb Iran’s civilian infrastructure, including bridges and power plants, U.N. Human Rights Chief Volker Turk said “deliberately attacking civilians and civilian infrastructure is a war crime.”
The 1949 Geneva Convention on Humanitarian Conduct in Time of War prohibits attacks on places deemed essential to civilians.
Centcom also said Marines boarded an oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman as part of the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports that began Tuesday night.
He added, “We changed the direction of three commercial ships attempting to blockade.”
The U.S. military’s previous blockade of Iranian ports from April 13 to June 18 disabled nine ships and diverted more than 140, according to Centcom.
As new hostilities further strain preliminary agreements to end the war, White House press secretary Caroline Levitt said Thursday that Trump remains open to talks with Iran.
“The president will hold them accountable when they turn their backs on what they said to the United States, but he is always open to diplomacy at the same time,” she told reporters.
She said Iran still wants to negotiate with the United States, adding: “We are talking to them, but again, the president will not allow them to open fire on ships in the strait without paying for it.”
As the attacks escalate, the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway off Iran’s coast, remains effectively blockaded by Tehran in response to U.S. and Israeli airstrikes.
Earlier, Tehran said it had attacked US military bases in Jordan, Kuwait and Bahrain, while the US said it carried out strikes over a period of six hours at several locations in the strait.
The exchange came after Trump warned Iran would “do better” or face further military action if it did not return to the deal.
Iran’s top negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, told state media that Iran had no reason to comply with any agreement that was not in its interests.
He added that Iran’s national security depends on maintaining the “Iranian agreement” in the Strait of Hormuz.
