The commander of US Central Command said Wednesday that Iran deliberately attacked seven commercial vessels over the past week, killing, wounding, or leaving missing nearly a dozen crew members, and fired dozens of missiles and drones toward neighboring Gulf states. The statement provides a comprehensive overview of Iran's maritime and aerial aggression this week, tying together previously reported attacks.
At 08:11 Jerusalem, the commander of US Central Command issued a comprehensive statement summarizing Iran's maritime and aerial attacks over the past week, marking the first time he has provided a combined assessment. The statement explicitly frames the attacks as deliberate targeting of civilians, saying seven commercial vessels were struck and dozens of missiles and drones were fired toward neighboring Gulf states. This follows two earlier statements from the commander: at 02:30 Jerusalem, when he revealed the missile and drone launches, and at 07:32, when he disclosed that 12 crew members were killed, wounded, or missing from the ship attacks. The new statement, obtained from the commander's official remarks, reaffirms both elements and characterizes the attacks as intentional.
The Zioneer first reported the commander's remarks at 02:30 Jerusalem, when he said Iran launched dozens of missiles and drones at Gulf states. At 07:32 Jerusalem, the commander provided a specific casualty count of 12 crew members from the attacks on seven merchant ships. Between these reports, the US Army had confirmed crew casualties, and earlier reports had cited varying figures of 10 or 12. The current statement, issued at 08:11 Jerusalem, combines both elements and explicitly frames the attacks as deliberate targeting of civilians.
The statements come amid a broader US-Iran military confrontation. The Zioneer has reported extensively on US strikes on Iranian targets earlier this week, including more than 90 targets struck on July 8–9, both in southern Iran and across five provinces, with Iranian media reporting 14 killed and 78 wounded. On July 13, an Iranian security channel reported that several civilian ships were attacked in the Gulf, forcing them to turn back, though no attacker was identified.
Which Gulf states were targeted by the missiles and drones remains unspecified. Iran has not yet officially responded to the commander's characterization of its operations as deliberate attacks on civilians.
5 developments
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Source and signal
- Internal intake