Multiple media outlets reported that the US launched multiple waves of airstrikes targeting over 140 military sites inside Iran on Sunday, triggering a sweeping drone and missile retaliation by Iran against US bases and Gulf Arab allies that has pushed a fragile interim ceasefire to the brink of collapse. The heavy exchange of fire followed an Iranian attack on a Cyprus-flagged container ship in the strategic Strait of Hormuz on Saturday, which Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) subsequently declared closed until further notice.
Under orders from US President Donald Trump to preserve freedom of navigation and lower global energy prices, US Central Command struck Iranian drone launchers, missile networks, and naval assets, notably on Qeshm Island and in Bandar Abbas.