US conducts fresh strikes on Iran for 13th consecutive night

US CENTCOM conducted its 13th consecutive night of strikes against Iranian military targets to counter threats to commercial shipping. President Trump vowed to use seized Iranian funds to pay for any damages to ships and cargo.

The United States Central Command announced on Thursday (US local time) that it conducted a fresh wave of strikes against Iranian military targets. This marks the 13th consecutive night of strikes by Washington against Tehran. In a post on X, CENTCOM said that the strikes come to "diminish threats" from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to commercial shipping.

"U.S. forces started another night of strikes against Iranian military targets at 6:45 p.m. ET today. This is the 13th consecutive night of strikes aimed to hold Iran accountable and diminish threats from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to commercial shipping," CENTCOM said.

U.S. forces started another night of strikes against Iranian military targets at 6:45 p.m. ET today. This is the 13th consecutive night of strikes aimed to hold Iran accountable and diminish threats from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to commercial shipping. — U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) July 23, 2026

Naval Blockade and Vessel Diversions

Also earlier, CENTCOM claimed that since resuming the naval blockade against Iran nine days ago, it has redirected 12 commercial vessels and disabled 1 to prevent ships from entering or leaving Iranian ports or coastal areas.

Trump: Iranian Funds to Cover Damages

The recent strikes come shortly after President Trump in a post on Truth Social hours ago had said that any damages done to ships and cargo will be paid by the Iranian money in possession and control of Washington--calling it a "fair and equitable" step.

"Please let this statement serve to represent, until further notice, that from this point forth, any and all damages done to Ships, Cargo, or anything related thereto, will be paid for by Iranian Money that the United States has in its possession, and controls. These damages may be very substantial but, nevertheless, this is the fair and equitable thing to do. Thank you for your attention to this matter!" he said on Truth Social.

'Iran Will Never Have a Nuclear Weapon'

Meanwhile earlier on Thursday, he reiterated the stance that Tehran cannot be allowed to have nuclear weapons and that Washington is doing "extremely well" as the conflict continues between the two adversaries.

The US President said, "We're doing very well against the Islamic Republic of Iran--we're doing extremely well. They would like to do something, but I say they're not ready yet. They need more of the same. They've got some evil intentions. We cannot let them have a nuclear weapon."

Trump said that Iran cannot be allowed to even consider acquiring nuclear weapons. He added, "We cannot let them even think about having nuclear weapons and that is exactly what is happening. They will never have a nuclear weapon... This should've been done by other American Presidents or other countries. It didn't have to be us but if we don't do it nobody else will, but I will and nobody else has the capability to do it."

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianetnews Editorial staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)