US bunker buster bombs hit Iranian anti-ship missile sites near Strait of Hormuz
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The US military bombed an Iranian warship near the Strait of Hormuz with 5,000 pound bunker buster bombs on Tuesday, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said.
The strikes near the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s most important oil hub, come as Iran struggles to access the vital waterway due to the regime’s threats to oil tankers.
“In the past hours, the US military has successfully used a 5,000-pound depth-penetrating weapon against Iranian missile sites near the coast of Iran near the Strait of Hormuz,” CENTCOM wrote Tuesday evening in X.
GBU-72 deep penetration weapons, often called bunker busters, are designed to intercept solid or underground targets before detonation.
TRUMP SAYS MOST OF NATO’S ‘DO NOT WANT TO GET INVOLVED’ IN THE IRAN OPERATION, BUT WE ‘NEVER NEEDED THEIR HELP.
The Eglin test squadron takes off the GBU-72 for the first time (Samuel King Jr. via DVIDS)
“Iranian anti-ship cruise missiles in these areas pose a threat to international shipping in this crisis,” the order said.
Most of the shipping traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s oil and gas shipping route that supplies about one-fifth of the world’s crude oil, has been suspended since early March, after the start of the war. About 20 ships were attacked in this area.
A UAE military ship sails alongside a cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz as seen from Khor Fakkan, United Arab Emirates, Wednesday, March 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)
Oil prices have fallen more than 40% to more than $100 per barrel since the start of the Iran war, and Iran has threatened not to allow “even one liter of oil” destined for the US, Israel and its allies to pass through.
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At least 89 ships crossed the Strait of Hormuz between March 1 and 15 – including 16 oil tankers, the Associated Press reported, citing Lloyd’s List Intelligence. The number of ships sailing a day has dropped from about 100 to 135 before the war, more than one-fifth of the 89 ships believed to be linked to Iran and the rest to Chinese and Greek allies.
A satellite view shows the Strait of Hormuz, an important global energy outlet connecting the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, on Oct. 2, 2024. (Gallo Images/Orbital Horizon/Copernicus Sentinel Data via Getty Images)
As crude prices rose above $100 a barrel, President Donald Trump pressed his allies and trading partners to send in warships and reopen the strait, hoping to lower oil prices. No partners, however, have yet to commit.
“I think NATO made a stupid mistake,” Trump said in the Oval Office on Tuesday when a reporter asked about getting American allies to help the US escort oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz. “And I’ve been saying that for a long time, you know, I wonder if NATO will ever exist for us.”
The Eglin test squadron takes off the GBU-72 for the first time. (Photo by Samuel King Jr. via DVIDS)
Trump added: “So this was a big test because we don’t need them, but they should have been there.”
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The US on Friday bombed military facilities on Kharg Island off the coast of Iran, which is key to Iran’s oil network and exports, but Trump said he had abandoned the oil infrastructure for now.
Jasmine Baehr of Fox News Digital and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
