#iranrulesouttalksuntiluswithdraws 🇺🇸⚔️🇮🇷
- CENTCOM confirms US forces have begun a third round of strikes on Iran
this week, after the IRGC attacked the M/V GFS Galaxy — a Cyprus-flagged container ship transiting the Strait of Hormuz.
Per CENTCOM, a civilian crew member is missing and the vessel is disabled by an onboard fire and significant engine-room damage. The strikes are being carried out "at the direction of the Commander in Chief."
Iranian state media report explosions across coastal areas — Bandar Abbas (three blasts), Sirik (two), Qeshm, Bushehr, Asaluyeh and Chabahar. (As before, "Bushehr" here refers to coastal-area explosions; no strike on the nuclear plant itself has been confirmed.) Defense Secretary Hegseth: "Iran made a poor choice. Now they pay."
This follows ~80 targets on July 7 and ~90 on July 8, and comes hours after Iran declared the strait "closed until further notice" and fired a warning shot at a vessel on an "unapproved" route.
The contradiction to watch: even as this third wave lands, a high-level US delegation — VP Vance, Sec. Rubio, envoy Witkoff and Jared Kushner — was heading to Oman for talks, and Iran privately told Washington the earlier ship attacks were a "mistake" by IRGC hardliners. Bombing and negotiating are running simultaneously.
Developing. Sources: US Central Command, Times of Israel liveblog, CBS News.
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