WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The US military says it has attacked Iran's missile launching sites along the Strait of Hormuz using powerful 'deep penetrator' bombs.
'Hours ago, U.S. forces successfully employed multiple 5,000-pound deep penetrator munitions on hardened Iranian missile sites along Iran's coastline near the Strait of Hormuz,' the US Central Command said on X Tuesday night. 'The Iranian anti-ship cruise missiles in these sites posed a risk to international shipping in the strait,' it added.
One of the world's most important and strategic maritime corridors, which is vital for transporting oil, has been mostly blocked by Iran since the Middle East war broke out on February 28.
More than 20,000 seafarers and around 3,200 vessels are 'confined' west of the Strait of Hormuz, and 17 confirmed attacks on shipping since it started, according to the International Maritime Organization, IMO.
The UN agency is holding an extraordinary meeting Wednesday to consider how to help shipping and seafarers stranded in the Arabian Sea, the Sea of Oman and the Gulf region, particularly in and around the Strait of Hormuz.
Meanwhile as the Middle East war entered its 19th day, iran continued to launch drones targeting Dubai, Qatar, Kuwait, Iraq, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. Most of them have reportedly been intercepted.
The humanitarian situation in Lebanon is worsening, with hundreds reported killed and more than one million people displaced amid continued airstrikes and extensive displacement orders by Israel.
Israel launched air-strikes into Lebanon's capital Beirut and ordered residents in the country's south to evacuate as it plans to intensify attacks targeting Hezbollah.
In Iran, more than 1,440 people have been reported killed and 18,700 OTHERS injured, while in Lebanon at least 886 have died and more than 2,100 have been injured, according to the UN.
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