The Daily Populous Wednesday March 18th, 2026 morning edition
Authored by jpost.com and submitted by Sexy_Foxys

The United States on Tuesday attacked Iranian missile sites stationed along the Strait of Hormuz coastline as part of Operation Epic Fury, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement.

"Hours ago, US forces successfully employed multiple 5,000-pound deep penetrator munitions on hardened Iranian missile sites along Iran’s coastline near the Strait of Hormuz," CENTCOM posted on X/Twitter.

"The Iranian anti-ship cruise missiles in these sites posed a risk to international shipping in the strait," the statement added.

The strikes come as sources told The Jerusalem Post that operations at the Strait of Hormuz could prolong the war for "weeks, if not months."

“This could extend the war by as much as two months,” one source familiar with the discussions said.

Ships avoid Strait of Hormuz amid fears of Iranian attack

At present, following Iranian threats to target ships, many vessels are avoiding the Strait of Hormuz, a critical artery for the global energy market, through which about 20% of the world’s oil supply passes.

Satellite images from the Persian Gulf show numerous ships waiting outside the strait to avoid potential attacks.

Within the Trump administration, ensuring safe navigation through the strait is now being incorporated into its war objectives. Officials are even considering the possibility of a ground operation on Iran’s Kharg Island, located in the center of the strait, after the US military struck targets there over the weekend.

With this in mind, the US military announced that 5,000 Marines will be deployed to the region.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that following a phone call with Trump, the two agreed to cooperate on the Strait of Hormuz issue. “There is coordination between our air forces and navies. We will assist both through indirect actions that place immense pressure on the Iranian regime and through direct operations. There are many more surprises ahead.”

At this stage, an Israeli source told the Post that Israel’s assistance regarding the strait is limited to intelligence support rather than kinetic action. “But that can always change,” the official added.

floodcontrol on March 18th, 2026 at 02:39 UTC »

This article is crap, it identifies Karg Island as being in the middle of the Strait of Hormuz when it is in the middle of the Persian Gulf, nowhere near the Strait.

BruceEgoz on March 18th, 2026 at 02:33 UTC »

"Gentlemen, we may not make history tomorrow, but we shall certainly change the geography "

0wmeHjyogG on March 18th, 2026 at 01:38 UTC »

“ensuring safe navigation through the strait is now being incorporated into its war objectives”

This seems like something that could have easily been “incorporated” before this fiasco started.