US military drops 5,000-pound deep-penetrator bombs near Strait of Hormuz

The U.S. military dropped multiple 5,000-pound deep-penetrator bombs on “hardened” Iranian anti-ship missile sites on Tuesday along the country’s coastline near the Strait of Hormuz.

“The Iranian anti-ship cruise missiles in these sites posed a risk to international shipping in the strait,” the U.S. Central Command (Centcom) said.

The employment of the munitions, known as Coastal Defense Cruise Missiles, comes as the Iranian military has attacked ships in the strait, through which about 20 percent of the world’s oil supply flows.

Mojtaba Khamenei, Iran’s new supreme leader, previously said the strait would remain closed off in response to the airstrikes by the U.S. and Israel, a joint operation that kicked off on Feb. 28.

Since the war began, gas prices have gone up in the U.S. and around the world due to disruptions in oil markets.

Iran’s ability to launch low-cost drones, lay sea mines and fire anti-ship cruise missiles are some of the reasons why U.S. allies in Europe and elsewhere are hesitant to attempt to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

On Tuesday, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), an Iran hawk and a close ally of President Trump, hammered European allies over their reluctance to send military assets to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, threatening “wide and deep” repercussions for alliances.

Trump said Wednesday morning that wonders what would happen if the U.S. military “finished off what is “left of the Iranian Terror State and let the Countries that use it, we don’t, be responsible for the so called “Strait?’

“That would get some of our non-responsive ‘Allies’ in gear, and fast,” the president wrote on Truth Social.

The bombs used were GBU-72 Advanced Penetrators, an U.S. official told CNN, munitions that were utilized by U.S. aircraft in 2021.

“The GBU-72 was developed to overcome hardened, deeply buried target challenges and designed for both fighter and bomber aircraft,” the Air Force said in 2021.

This story was updated at 10:01 a.m.

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