ByGOLDIE KATZ
Updated:

US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced that American forces have initiated strikes against Iran in the early morning hours of Monday.

In a statement on X/Twitter, CENTCOM stated that the strikes are intended to degrade Iran’s “ability to attack civilian mariners and commercial ships freely transiting the Strait of Hormuz.”

A CENTCOM spokesperson told CNN that US aircraft had so far successfully shot down an Iranian cruise missile and a one-way attack drone. The spokesperson added that within the past hour, Iran fired at a commercial ship in the Strait of Hormuz.

Several explosions were heard in Iranian cities, including Sirik and Bandar Abbas, shortly after midnight on Monday, according to Iranian state media reports.

CENTCOM hit 140 Iranian targets during Sunday strikes

The US carries out similar strikes on Iran in the early morning hours on Sunday, hitting approximately 140 Iranian military targets, according to a CENTCOM statement.

Smoke rises at an unknown location following what US Central Command says is a new wave of strikes against Iran on Tuesday after three tankers were hit by projectiles in the Strait of Hormuz, in this still image taken from video released July 7, 2026.
Smoke rises at an unknown location following what US Central Command says is a new wave of strikes against Iran on Tuesday after three tankers were hit by projectiles in the Strait of Hormuz, in this still image taken from video released July 7, 2026. (credit: U.S. Central Command/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo)

Sunday’s strikes targeted Iranian missile and drone sites, ammunition storage facilities, communications, and coastal surveillance locations using precise munitions.

According to CENTCOM, the strikes were initiated for the purpose of “holding Iranian forces” for the attack of a commercial vessel transiting the Strait of Hormuz.