US forces carried out strikes on Iranian missile sites along the country’s southern coastline near the Strait of Hormuz, using multiple 5,000-pound (2,200-kg) bunker-buster bombs to target Iranian missile sites near the Strait of Hormuz, according to the US Central Command.
“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 military command said in a tweet early Wednesday (IST).
The military claimed that the strikes targeted Iranian anti-ship cruise missiles, which it claimed “posed a risk to international shipping in the strait.”
The Central Command announced the bombings hours after US President Donald Trump said most North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) allies had expressed that they did not want to get involved with the American military’s campaign in Iran.
While he did describe the move as a “very foolish mistake,” the leader gave no indication that he plans to punish the alliance’s fellow members for their stances.
Trump said Nato countries were supportive of the joint US-Israeli war, which has now entered its third week, even as they did not want to get involved.
“Everyone agrees with us, but they don’t want to help. And we, you know, we as the United States have to remember that because we think it’s pretty shocking,” he told reporters.
The remarks came just days after Trump publicly called on nations to send warships to enable container vessels to pass through the Strait of Hormuz unharmed.
Several countries, however, including some very close allies of the US, appeared evasive regarding the appeal.
Germany’s Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul, on the other hand, told local media: “Will we soon be an active part of this conflict? No.” The remarks signalled a high level of reluctance by Berlin to partake in the proposed mission.
Other countries indicated they had no immediate plans to send ships to help unblock the strait.
French President Emmanuel Macron said his country would “never” do so until the situation was calmer, according to news agency AFP.
The Strait of Hormuz, which has been effectively closed since the first week of March in the wake of the ongoing war between Iran and the joint front of Israel and the US, is a vital choke point through which about 20 per cent of the world’s oil passes.
The disruption to movement of cargo ships through the strategic waterway has sent fuel prices soaring across the world.
