U.S. Military Destroys IRGC Surveillance Tower in Qalantari Port

The U.S. military said it destroyed a maritime surveillance tower at Qalantari Port on July 16. According to Jin10, U.S. Central Command said the tower was part of an Iranian Revolutionary Guard maritime surveillance network used for decades along the Gulf of Oman coast to track and target merchant ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz. The command said the strike directly reduced the Revolutionary Guard's ability to coordinate attacks on innocent civilian crews. It also said the action protected freedom of navigation for all vessels in the area's waters, except ships attempting to violate the United States' ongoing maritime blockade on Iran.