Credit : CENTCOM's X
TAMPA, November 1, 2026 — US Central Command (CENTCOM) has publicly rejected a claim by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi that Iran has not attacked civilians in neighbouring countries, calling the assertion “false” and accusing Tehran of deliberately targeting civilian sites across the Gulf and mariners at sea.
In a post on its official X account, CENTCOM said: “Iran’s foreign minister recently claimed publicly that Iran has not attacked civilians in neighboring countries. This is FALSE.”
The command went on to say that “Iran has not only intentionally attacked civilian infrastructure, neighborhoods, and other facilities in neighboring Gulf countries, but it has also deliberately attacked civilian mariners at sea — killing more than 20 in recent months.” CENTCOM described what it called Iran’s “indiscriminate aggression” as “clearly evident and inexcusable”.
CENTCOM did not provide a breakdown of the maritime fatalities it cited, and the figure could not be independently verified. Iran has consistently denied deliberately targeting civilians in Gulf states.
Independent reporting has, however, documented significant civilian harm across the region since the conflict began on February 28. A Reuters investigation counted at least 135 drone and missile strikes on at least 84 infrastructure sites in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain, including water plants, airports and refineries, and concluded that the strikes were deliberate rather than the result of falling debris.
Human Rights Watch has reported that Iranian strikes killed at least 11 civilians and injured at least 268 across Gulf Cooperation Council countries since February 28, citing government figures, according to Jordan’s Roya News. The International Maritime Organization reported 21 attacks on commercial vessels in the early months of the conflict, resulting in 10 seafarer deaths as of April 2. Those figures confirm casualties among civilian crews but do not on their own substantiate CENTCOM’s figure of more than 20 mariners killed.
Roya News also noted that CENTCOM’s statement did not address civilian casualties caused by US military operations inside Iran, which Iranian officials have repeatedly raised.
The rebuttal is the latest in a series of “fact check” posts CENTCOM has published in recent weeks challenging statements by Iranian officials and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), including claims about sea mines and US drones in the Strait of Hormuz.
CENTCOM has repeatedly highlighted its enforcement of the blockade on its X account. In an October 31 post, the command said US forces had redirected 144 commercial vessels as of that date, and on October 22 it said 100 days had passed since its forces resumed the blockade, which it said had prevented Iran from exporting at least $25 billion worth of crude oil. On November 7, CENTCOM said US forces had disabled the St Kitts-flagged cargo vessel M/V Huda in the Gulf of Oman after its crew ignored repeated warnings and tried to breach the blockade after visiting an Iranian port.
Iranian officials have rejected the US characterisation of the conflict and have accused Washington of aggression against Iran. CENTCOM’s latest post did not quote Araghchi directly or say when and where he made the remarks it was rebutting.
The exchange comes as US forces continue to enforce a naval blockade against Iranian ports, while diplomatic efforts involving mediators such as Qatar seek a negotiated settlement to the conflict. Tensions at sea remain high, with commercial shipping in the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz continuing to face risks.
Source: US Central Command on X
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