U.S. strikes Iran for 13th consecutive night

WASHINGTON, July 23 (Xinhua) -- U.S. forces launched another round of strikes against Iranian military targets on Thursday evening, marking the 13th consecutive night of attacks, said the U.S. Central Command.

The strikes began at 6:45 p.m. Eastern Time and were intended "to hold Iran accountable and diminish threats from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to commercial shipping," the command said in a post on X.

U.S. forces have redirected 12 commercial vessels and disabled one from entering or leaving Iranian ports or coastal areas since resuming a naval blockade against Iran earlier this month, the command said in another post on X.

Earlier on Thursday, U.S. President Donald Trump told U.S. online media Axios that he is considering restarting major combat operations in Iran, including strikes that would be bigger than the Operation Epic Fury he launched on Feb. 28.