US And Iran Exchange Fresh Strikes As Fragile Ceasefire Faces New Test

(Fire. Photo Credit: Daily Post)

The United States Central Command (CENTCOM) has confirmed that the US and Iran exchanged fresh strikes on Wednesday, even as both sides attempt to preserve a fragile ceasefire while negotiations remain ongoing.

CENTCOM disclosed that it carried out overnight defensive strikes on Iran’s Qeshm Island in response to what it described as attempted attacks by Iran across the Middle East.

Prior to those strikes, US forces had intercepted and disabled an unloaded oil tanker that was reportedly heading toward an Iranian port on the Arabian Gulf. Iranian authorities are said to have pointed to the action against the vessel as the catalyst for the renewed exchange of strikes.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) stated that it responded by firing naval missiles at a US-Israeli vessel, after which US forces struck an IRGC communications tower located south of Qeshm Island.

The IRGC further claimed to have launched a combination of missiles and drones at several US military targets in the region, including an airbase, the headquarters of the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet in Bahrain, and helicopters stationed at a location in a neighbouring country.