US Central Command said Friday it destroyed the observation tower at Shahid Kalantari port in Chabahar, which it described as part of a maritime surveillance network used by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps for decades to monitor and attack commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz. The tower was destroyed on July 16, as previously reported.
US Central Command announced Friday evening that the observation tower at Shahid Kalantari port in Chabahar, destroyed on July 16, was part of a decades-long Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) maritime surveillance network used to monitor and attack commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz. The statement provides the first official naming of the port and the explicit characterization of the network as a long-term IRGC asset.
The thread of reports began early Friday at 06:08 Jerusalem, when regional analysts first reported the tower's collapse. Within the same hour, Iranian sources confirmed the collapse, and reports emerged of multiple US strikes on the facility, its total destruction, and a US Army confirmation that the tower had been used for decades to monitor shipping. CENTCOM also released footage of the strike. Later in the afternoon, at 17:39 Jerusalem, the US Army issued a statement reiterating that the tower's destruction "harms Iran's ability to coordinate such attacks — and protects freedom of navigation." At 17:46 Jerusalem, CENTCOM released a statement explicitly linking the tower to a decades-long maritime surveillance network, as The Zioneer reported.
The strike is part of a broader US campaign against Iranian maritime military infrastructure. Over the past month, CENTCOM has conducted strikes on coastal defense systems, missile and drone launch sites, and a submarine facility at Bandar Abbas, as well as intercepting Iranian suicide drones targeting commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, as The Zioneer reported on July 13 and earlier.
No further details on the extent of the damage or any casualties have been reported by CENTCOM. The statement does not indicate whether the tower has been fully destroyed or requires further action.
10 developments
- StrongCENTCOM: US forces destroyed IRGC surveillance tower, degrading ability to coordinate attacks on civilian crew
- StrongUS Army confirms destruction of IRGC observation tower, says it 'harms Iran's ability to coordinate attacks on shipping'
- StrongCENTCOM released footage of engagement with Iranian forces in Strait of Hormuz
- ConfirmedCENTCOM intercepts Iranian suicide drones targeting commercial ships in Strait of Hormuz
Source and signal
- Internal intake