US deploys A-10 Warthogs, Apache helicopters to secure Strait of Hormuz

The US has deployed A-10 Warthogs attack jets, Ah-64 Apache helicopters, and 5,000-pound ground penetrator bombs to take out Iranian drones, boats, and mines to help secure the Strait of Hormuz, America’s top general said Thursday.

Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, vowed at a Pentagon news conference that the US would “hunt and kill” all of Tehran’s weapons facilities and assets being used against the strait, a critical trade route through which 20% of the world’s oil supply is transported.

“We continue to hunt and kill afloat assets, including more than 120 vessels and 44 minelayers,” Caine told reporters alongside War Secretary Pete Hegseth.

“And the pressure will continue. We’re flying further to the east now and penetrating deeper into Iranian airspace to hunt and kill one-way attack gear.”

As part of the recent operations, the US deployed powerful A-10s to bombard Iranian ships in the Strait of Hormuz.

Caine also confirmed that the US dropped 5,000-pound penetrator weapons into underground storage facilities in Iran on Wednesday.

The US also made use of AH-64 Apache attack helicopters to strike against Iraq-based, Iran-aligned militia groups believed to be firing drones across the Middle East.

Caine claimed that America’s efforts would effectively destroy Iran’s ability to “project power outside of its borders,” a key goal of the Trump administration.

The closure of the strait following recent attacks on tanker and transport ships as well as oil and gas facilities across the Middle East has caused gas prices to soar, with benchmark Brent oil prices jumping above $119 a barrel on Thursday.

The Trump administration has discussed using ground forces on Iranian shores to secure the Strait of Hormuz and Kharg Island, through which 90% of Iranian crude oil exports pass, according to Reuters.

The White House has said no decision on troop deployment has been made yet, “but President Trump wisely keeps all options at his disposal.”

“No, I’m not putting troops anywhere,” Trump told a reporter who quizzed him about the prospect Thursday, adding: “If I were, I certainly wouldn’t tell you.”

Trump had called on America’s allies and Iran’s oil buyers to deploy their own naval units to secure the Strait of Hormuz, but the president has received lukewarm responses or outright refusals to get involved in a hot war.

Meanwhile, Israel has expanded its strikes on Iran to reach the Caspian Sea, with more than 200 military targets hit over the past 36 hours, IDF spokesman Nadav Shoshani told reporters. 

“We continue to strike key Iranian terror regime leaders and critical terror infrastructure, hindering the ability of the Iranian regime to launch attacks against Israel and other countries in the region,” Shoshani said. 

“We are able to maintain aerial superiority, ensuring that we can continue our missions as planned, in a systematic way, degrading the Iranians regime’s capabilities,” he added. 

While Israel is directly targeting leaders of the Iranian regime and calling for civilians to overthrow their government, Shoshani maintained that Israel was not pursuing a regime change. 

The IDF spokesman also dodged questions about whether Israel and the US are at odds over the latest attacks on Iran’s oil and gas infrastructure. 

Trump has said he spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to end such attacks after Israel bombarded Iran’s South Pars gas field, the largest of its kind in the world.