The US military said on Saturday that Iran's ability to threaten the Strait of Hormuz has been "degraded" by the bombing this week of an underground facility where it stored cruise missiles and other weaponry.
Iran's de facto blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20 percent of the world's oil and gas normally flows, and the numerous attacks on oil and gas infrastructure in West Asia, have sent energy prices soaring.
Meanwhile, 22 countries on Saturday said they would contribute to efforts ensuring safe passage in the strait, condemning Iran's closure of the vital waterway.
"We condemn in the strongest terms recent attacks by Iran on unarmed commercial vessels in the Gulf, attacks on civilian infrastructure including oil and gas installations, and the de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz by Iranian forces," said the 22 countries, mostly European but also including the UAE and Bahrain.
"We express our readiness to contribute to appropriate efforts to ensure safe passage through the Strait. We welcome the commitment of nations who are engaging in preparatory planning," they said in a joint statement.
"We call for an immediate comprehensive moratorium on attacks on civilian infrastructure, including oil and gas installations," they added.
With Iran mostly closing off the strait, the US military has brought out some of the heaviest bombs in its arsenal to penetrate adjacent missile sites.
Admiral Brad Cooper, commander of US Central Command (CENTCOM), said it had dropped multiple 5,000-pound bombs on a "hardened" underground facility located along Iran's coast that it used to store anti-ship cruise missiles, mobile missile launchers and other equipment.
"We not only took out the facility, but also destroyed intelligence support sites and missile radar relays that were used to monitor ship movements," Cooper said in video message posted on X.
"Iran's ability to threaten freedom of navigation in and around the Strait of Hormuz is degraded as a result, and we will not stop pursuing these targets," he added.
CENTCOM had revealed its use of the bunker-busting bombs on Tuesday, but in his message Saturday, Cooper elaborated on their impact -- as Washington comes under growing pressure to address the repercussions of the war on Iran on oil prices and global commerce.
Cooper said that the US military has so far struck over 8,000 military targets, including 130 Iranian vessels, in the past three weeks.
The 5,000-pound (2,268-kg) bombs -- which according to an Air Force Times report in 2022 cost an estimated $288,000 each -- are less powerful than the 30,000-pound (13,600-kg) bombs dropped by the United States on Iranian nuclear sites last year.
After the US and Israel launched attacks on Iran on February 28, Tehran has retaliated with strikes on its Gulf neighbours but also on vessels in the strait. From March 1 to 19, commodities carriers made just 116 crossings, according to analytics firm Kpler -- a decrease of 95 percent from peacetime averages.
The standoff in the Strait has sent crude oil prices soaring, with a barrel of North Sea Brent crude up more than 50 percent over the past month and now more than $105 a barrel.
On Friday, Trump slammed NATO allies as "cowards" and called on them to secure the Strait. He also said that the US was close to meeting its military objectives and considering "winding down" its military efforts in West Asia.