The U.S. military launched a third consecutive night of strikes against Iran on Monday under orders from President Donald Trump, with American forces targeting military assets linked to Tehran’s ability to threaten shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.

In a statement posted on X, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said the strikes began at 4:45 p.m. ET.

“At 4:45 p.m. ET today, U.S. Central Command began launching the third consecutive night of strikes against Iran, at the Commander in Chief’s direction,” CENTCOM said. “These strikes will continue imposing a heavy cost on Iranian forces and degrade their ability to attack innocent civilians and commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.”

The targets include Iranian coastal surveillance systems, as well as drone and missile capabilities.

Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump said the United States is working to eliminate Iran’s ability to threaten the strategic waterway.

“We’re attacking them tonight, and we’re taking out all of their capability for anything having to do with the strait, with the Hormuz Strait, and I think in the end we will end up just controlling the whole thing,” Trump said.

Asked how long he expects the war to continue, Trump replied, “I think it’s going very fast. We’ve demolished their military.”

Trump described the latest operation as a “military skirmish” rather than a prolonged war, while acknowledging that Iranian forces “are going to fight for a while.”

“We have to do what we’re doing,” Trump said. “We’ve cut down their capability very substantially, but they’re going to fight for a while.”

The president also downplayed the length of the conflict, noting, “We were in Vietnam for 19 years. We’re here for four months, so I think we’ve done a lot.”

Trump said he still believes a negotiated settlement is possible but suggested an agreement is not imminent.

“You have to get people that want to make something,” he said. “We had a deal with them two days ago, and then they said, ‘Oh, we can’t make that deal. We have to negotiate it further.'”

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)