The U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) warned on Wednesday that the Iranian regime is using civilian ports in the Strait of Hormuz as sites for military operations that threaten international maritime traffic, urging civilians to evacuate port facilities.

CENTCOM stated, "These dangerous actions are life-threatening to the wicked," adding, "Civilian ports used for military purposes lose their protected status and become legitimate military targets under international law."

Media outlets widely reported that the U.S. military had announced preemptive airstrikes on port facilities in the Strait of Hormuz.

CENTCOM urged, "We call on Iranian civilians to immediately avoid all port facilities where the Iranian navy is operating," and warned, "Iranian port workers, administrative staff, and merchant vessel crews should not approach Iranian naval vessels and military equipment."

CENTCOM revealed that the Iranian navy has deployed warships and equipment within civilian ports where commercial maritime traffic occurs.

CENTCOM added, "While the U.S. military cannot guarantee the safety of civilians within or near facilities used by the Iranian regime for military purposes, we will continue to take all possible precautions to minimize civilian casualties."

U.S. Navy Admiral Brad Cooper expressed gratitude to the over 50,000 soldiers currently engaged in Operation Epic Fury in an X video post, stating that by the 11th, a total of 5,500 targets had been struck, including over 60 vessels.

Commander Cooper explained, "We eliminated the last of the four Suleimani-class battleships, which are Iran's main combat vessels. This means an entire class of Iranian battleships has been removed from combat."

He briefed on the operation's achievements by showing before-and-after photos of battleships berthed at ports or naval bases across Iran.

Commander Cooper further stated, "We are systematically dismantling Iran's missile and drone capabilities while simultaneously attacking their defense industry infrastructure. Just last night, our bomber units struck a facility manufacturing large ballistic missiles. This not only targets weapons aimed at us today but also eliminates future threats."

Commander Cooper also emphasized the utilization of advanced artificial intelligence (AI) systems in this operation.

He said, "I want to highlight how we are achieving lethal effects in a completely new way with a few unclassified examples."

He added, "These systems sift through vast amounts of data in seconds, helping our commanders filter out noise and make wiser decisions faster than the enemy can respond. While humans make the final decision on what to fire and when, advanced AI tools reduce processes that used to take hours, sometimes days, to mere seconds."

By: NNP Chief Editor Sung Ku Hong / Special Dispatch to The Korea Post NNP info@newsandpost.com