IRGC Declares Strait of Hormuz Closed and Strikes Container Ship GFS Galaxy, Triggering Third Round of US Strikes

CENTCOM said US forces conducted a third round of strikes against Iran early Sunday after the IRGC attacked the Cyprus-flagged container ship M/V GFS Galaxy while it was transiting the Strait of Hormuz, leaving a crew member missing and the vessel disabled by fire and engine-room damage 12. The IRGC navy said in a statement carried by IRIB that it struck a vessel using an "unapproved route" and declared the strait closed "until further notice," warning that further US action would draw a "severe response" 2. UKMTO separately reported a container ship had sustained damage and caught fire roughly nine nautical miles off Oman, consistent with CENTCOM's account 2. A senior US official said the strikes targeted Iranian air surveillance radars, maritime surveillance systems, missile and drone storage and launch sites, and surface-to-air missile launchers, while Iranian state media reported explosions in Bandar Abbas, Sirik, and Qeshm Island 2. The strikes followed Omani-mediated talks between Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi and his Omani counterpart on navigation arrangements, from which Iran had withdrawn pending an internal consensus, according to diplomatic sources cited by RFE/RL 2.