US, Iran exchange fresh strikes in Middle East
However, Jordan said it successfully intercepted 18 of the 20 missiles launched by Iran. Another explosion of unidentified origin was also reported in the area.
Its forces ordered the crews to abandon the vessels before carrying out the strikes, rendering the tankers inoperable, according to the US military. The initial US attack targeted an Iranian oil tanker near the Kharg Island anchorage, prompting the safe evacuation of its crew, according to IRIB. Hawkins said the drone was an older, defective model that “neither collected sensitive data nor carried any classified sonar or radar equipment”.
No American personnel were injured in the operations. Moments later, US forces reportedly carried out a second strike on a commercial vessel in the coastal waters off Jask County. The Trump administration on Tuesday (local time) imposed fresh sanctions on Iran’s aviation sector, targeting more than two dozen commercial and private airlines as well as foreign cargo service providers in a renewed effort to isolate Tehran from its remaining trading partners.
The administration accused the 36 entities targeted in the latest round of sanctions of supporting Iran’s efforts to use its aviation sector to transport weapons, personnel and illicit cargo.
The measures are part of the administration’s “Operation Economic Outcast” campaign, aimed at cutting off what it described as “critical financial lifelines” to Iran’s already heavily sanctioned government. “Let this be a warning to anyone doing business with Iran’s remaining airlines, all of which we sanctioned today: You are at risk of being cut off from the global financial system,” a statement quoted treasury secretary Scott Bessent as saying. The latest sanctions target remaining parts of Tehran’s beleaguered aviation network, which has faced years of restrictions from Washington.