CENTCOM commander accuses Iran of targeting civilians

The commander of the US Central Command (CENTCOM) accused Iran of deliberately targeting civilians and commercial shipping across the Middle East.

“Over the past seven days, Iran has intentionally targeted civilians across the region by attacking seven commercial ships, resulting in nearly a dozen civilian crew members killed, missing or injured," Adm. Brad Cooper said Tuesday in a statement.

Cooper also said that Iran launched dozens of missiles and drones toward neighboring Gulf countries.

"U.S. forces are holding Iran accountable for unwarranted aggression that continues to endanger innocent lives," he added.

Earlier, the command said its forces launched another round of strikes against Iran on Tuesday and announced the resumption of the naval blockade as of 4 pm ET (2000GMT).

US President Donald Trump said Tuesday that strikes against Iran will continue in the coming days, warning that the United States will begin targeting the country's power plants and bridges next week unless Tehran returns to the negotiating table.

"We're hitting them very, very hard. We're hitting every single thing that they have along the shore, along the waterfront...They’ll continue until I say it's enough," Trump said during an interview with Fox News.