US military completes 12th straight night of strikes on Iran

By Kanishka Singh WASHINGTON, July 22 (Reuters) - The U.S. military said on Wednesday it completed its latest round of strikes on Iran at President Donald Trump's direction, for a 12th successive night of American attacks. Here are details and quotes: • "U.S. forces struck Iranian military targets including maritime capabilities, missile and drone storage facilities, coastal surveillance sites, and air defense assets," the U.S. Central Command said in a statement. • In July, U.S. forces have targeted dozens of Iranian military sites on land while resuming a blockade against Iran at sea, it added. • The latest U.S. strikes lasted five hours, the military said. • The Iran war began when the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on February 28 and Iran responded with its own strikes on Israel and Gulf states that host ⁠U.S. ​bases. • U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran and Israeli attacks on Lebanon ​have since killed thousands and displaced millions. • U.S. troop deaths have risen to 18 in recent days. • Trump vowed on Wednesday to destroy an Iranian bridge or power plant every time Iran shoots at a ship in the Strait of Hormuz. • Trump has also previously threatened to target energy plants and bridges. • Iran's joint military command warned that if the threat was ​carried out, its forces would target regional oil, gas, electricity and economic facilities, state media said. • The 1949 Geneva Conventions on humanitarian conduct in war prohibit attacks on sites considered essential for civilians. • Such attacks may amount to war crimes, international ⁠law experts in the United States said in April, after Trump's ​ threats. • Trump's threat that month to destroy Iran's entire civilization also drew wide condemnation. (Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Kate Mayberry and Clarence Fernandez)