US President Donald Trump said yesterday that the latest strikes on targets in Iran were carried out in response to the deaths of American servicemen in the region, DPA reported, quoted by BTA.
“These great people, these great patriots were there and fought to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon“, Trump told journalists after returning from the final of the World Cup. “We hit them very hard again tonight.“
Trump said the strikes were carried out “in memory“ of the fallen service members.“
He also said Iran had suffered heavy military losses in the conflict.“
“Militarily, they've lost almost everything,“ Trump said. “They've got very little left. They've got some missiles. They've got some drones. They've got some manufacturing capabilities, but not much.“
Trump also said the United States controls the Strait of Hormuz.“
“We control the Strait. They control nothing. "So we'll see what happens," he said.
Iran disputes that claim, saying a framework agreement reached in mid-June gives Tehran sole responsibility for managing the strategic sea route.
The conflict over the Strait of Hormuz, a key route for global energy supplies, has escalated again since early July.
Last week, the United States reported its highest number of US military deaths in months. On Saturday, the US military announced the deaths of two service members in Iranian attacks - the first such deaths reported since the conflict began.
Yesterday, US Central Command said another US service member died Saturday in northern Iraq while disposing of an unexploded ordnance from a downed Iranian suicide drone. This brings the confirmed death toll of US service members in the conflict to 17.
The US military said it had completed a ninth consecutive night of strikes against Iran, in which it attacked, among other targets, command centers and communications networks, AFP reported.
The overnight strikes “were directed at Iranian military command centers, air defense and coastal surveillance sites, naval capabilities, missile and drone launch sites, and communications networks to further reduce Iran's ability to attack merchant ships and civilian sailors transiting the Strait of Hormuz“, wrote on the social platform “Ex“ The US Central Command.
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said on Monday it had targeted US military aircraft at Aqaba airport in Jordan, "causing serious damage to several of them," Iranian state television reported, as quoted by AFP.
Heavy transport and patrol aircraft "belonging to the invading US army at Aqaba airport were hit with ballistic missiles, causing serious damage to several of them," the television said in a statement.
The Revolutionary Guards also said they had seized two oil tankers that were trying to pass through the Strait of Hormuz without permission from Tehran, Iranian state television and the Tasnim news agency reported.
“Late "Last night, two oil tankers [...] that were trying to enter and exit the dangerous and risky southern route through the Strait of Hormuz exploded and were immobilized," the Guards said in a statement.
The number of ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz remained low over the weekend as the United States and Iran stepped up their attacks in the Middle East, DPA reported.
Four ships passed through the strait yesterday, compared to eight the previous day, according to data from the "London Stock Exchange Group" (LSEG), one of the world's leading financial infrastructure, data and analytics companies, and also the owner of the London Stock Exchange. At least three oil tankers and one crude supertanker have entered the strait to load oil since Friday, the data showed.
No LNG tankers have been seen transiting the strait since Thursday.
The LSEG data covers the passage of container ships, bulk carriers, car carriers and tankers carrying oil, gas and chemicals.
The UK Maritime Trade Operations Office (UKMTO) said on Monday it had received a report of an incident 8 nautical miles (14.8 km) northwest of the Omani village of Kumzar, where a verified source said a ship was on fire, Reuters reported. The cause of the fire was not immediately clear.
Against this backdrop, oil prices jumped to above $90 a barrel, their highest since June. Brent crude for September delivery rose 2.72 percent to $90.5 a barrel in early Asian trade, AFP reported.