US military says it is launching more strikes against Iran

The strikes come hours before Washington plans to enforce a blockade on Iranian shipping

The US military said on Tuesday it was launching more strikes against Iran.

The strikes began Tuesday afternoon Eastern Time, the US Central Command said in a social media post.

The strikes come as the US is preparing to reinstate a blockade of Iranian shipping after Tehran said it had closed the Strait of Hormuz.

The US blockade is set to go into effect at 1600 ET(2000 GMT), according to the Central Command.