The United States carried out strikes overnight on targets in southern Iran, saying the operation was conducted “in self-defense.” Tehran responded with a warning that any further US military action in the Middle East could sharply drive up global oil prices—to as much as $200 a barrel.
Captain Tim Hawkins, a spokesman for US Central Command (CENTCOM), said the targets included missile launchers and boats operated by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which Washington claims were attempting to lay mines in the Strait of Hormuz—a key artery of global oil trade.
“US Central Command continues to defend our forces while exercising restraint under the ongoing ceasefire,” Hawkins said in an interview with Fox News.
Fox News journalist Jennifer Griffin, citing a US official, reported that American forces destroyed two Iranian boats and also struck the position of an air-defense missile system in Bandar Abbas that was allegedly targeting US aircraft. According to two sources familiar with the matter, the operation consisted of “defensive strikes” that “do not indicate” a withdrawal from the ceasefire arrangement. The operation has reportedly now concluded.
Tehran responded sharply. Ebrahim Zolfaghari, an official spokesman for Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, wrote on X that continued US strikes could trigger a sharp surge in oil prices.
“The US government has repeatedly shown that it only understands the language of force. Prepare for oil at $200 a barrel,” he wrote.
According to Zolfaghari, continued US “military adventurism” in the region makes any negotiations or agreements between the sides impossible.
The strikes came amid a fragile ceasefire that both sides are now interpreting differently: Washington insists the limited operation falls within the logic of self-defense and does not invalidate existing arrangements, while Tehran views it as a continuation of coercive pressure. At the center of the standoff remains the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly one-fifth of global seaborne oil supplies pass—and where any escalation is immediately reflected in energy prices.