The United States used sea drones in combat in a first, as it struck an Iranian submarine and shipping maintenance facility. Sharing a video of the strikes, the US Central Command said it had used one-way attack surface drones on Sunday, and hit Iran’s Bandar Abbas port by deploying unmanned surface vessels.
“Yesterday, using multiple one-way attack surface drones, CENTCOM forces successfully struck a submarine and ship maintenance facility in Iran. Three Corsair unmanned surface vessels hit the port at Bandar Abbas Naval Base, marking the first time American forces have employed sea drones in combat operations,” the CENTCOM said in a post on its official X handle on Monday.
The US military further said that the strikes had “degraded Iran’s ability to continue attacking commercial shipping.”
US, Iran escalate hostilities over control of Hormuz
On Monday, Iran fired “warning shots” at two ships attempting to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, its state television reported, according to AFP. The state media reported that two ships attempting to “illegally” transit the waterway “were targeted and stopped by warning shots fired by the navy of the Revolutionary Guards.”
Meanwhile, US continued its strikes, attacking Iran’s Bandar Abbas and Qeshm Island. One person was killed, and seven others were injured in a US attack near Nain county in Iran’s Isfahan province, Mehr news agency reported. Both US and Iran have been fighting to gain control of Hormuz, with the latter saying it had closed the waterway for shipping.
US President Donald Trump on Monday claimed that America would become the “guardian angel” of the strait, adding that US forces would reinstate a naval blockade on Iran. Trump further said that others countries would have “fair and open use” of the strait, but America would be “reimbursed” at the rate of 20 per cent for all cargo shipping that passed through Hormuz.
CENTCOM says struck multiple locations to ‘degrade Iran’s ability’ to attack commercial ships
Meanwhile, the US CENTCOM had on Sunday said it had completed “a new wave of offensive strikes against Iran” to “degrade” Tehran’s ability to attack international shipping. CENTCOM said it had hit “g dozens of targets at multiple locations with precision munitions.”
It said US forces had struck Iranian air-defense systems, coastal radar sites, missile and drone capabilities and small boats. CENTCOM said it had used “fighter aircraft, naval vessels, one-way attack aerial drones, and one-way attack sea drones for the first time” in the strikes.
“US forces are postured and prepared to ensure that freedom of navigation remains available to commercial shipping despite Iran’s continued unwarranted aggression, harassment, threats, and arbitrary declarations,” CENTCOM added.
