US strikes about 100 Iranian targets near Strait of Hormuz

WASHINGTON, United States — WASHINGTON — The U.S. military carried out a broad air assault on Tuesday against roughly 100 Iranian military targets, including two Iranian government-owned oil tankers struck for the first time, according to American officials. President Donald Trump approved what officials described as a new "tanker-for-tanker" policy aimed at deterring Iranian attacks on commercial vessels and tankers in the Strait of Hormuz. U.S. drones hit the engine rooms of the two state-owned tankers anchored off the Iranian coast, the officials said. Targets also included air defense systems, radars, mine-laying capabilities, communications facilities, anti-ship cruise missiles and attack drones belonging to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Iran launched approximately 25 ballistic missiles and around 24 drones in response, including strikes aimed at bases in Kuwait, the officials said. About half of the missiles reached Jordanian airspace; ten were intercepted and three fell without causing casualties. Two drones sent toward the U.S. base in Erbil were also intercepted. The White House and U.S. Central Command characterized the strikes as retaliation for IRGC efforts against commercial shipping in Hormuz and against U.S. bases and forces in the region. Officials said U.S. forces escorted about 40 vessels carrying millions of barrels of oil through the strait on Tuesday, and that anti-ship cruise missiles and drones fired at the ships by the IRGC were intercepted without any hits. One U.S. official said the strikes had degraded Iran's offensive capability in Hormuz and reduced the threat to commercial shipping for at least a month.