- Vigil category device · not official insignia
Identity provenance
Vigil category device — drawn from this record’s own domain, echelon and role. Not an official insignia.
In brief
The American combatant command whose area covers Iran and the Gulf — the institution that has conducted the United States' war since February 2026, and the correct US command for this system rather than any other theatre's.
- Scope
- Structure, role, lineage and links. 2 subordinate records published.
- Subordination
- Subordination confirmed
- Sources
- 3 on the record
- Record state
- Partial
Broad area of activity
The Middle East, the Gulf and Central Asia — the CENTCOM area of responsibility
Notable history
CENTCOM was created in 1983 out of the Rapid Deployment Joint Task Force, itself a response to the Iranian revolution and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan; the command exists because of this region and has never been responsible for anywhere else. It is the American organisation conducting the current war. CENTCOM reported having struck more than ten thousand targets in Iran by 25 March 2026, and roughly fifty thousand US service members were deployed in and around the Middle East that month. It also conducted the maritime interdiction of Iranian exports, reporting that it redirected more than one hundred and forty ships and disabled nine — a self-reported figure this module carries as such. The United States has done all of this without an authorisation for the use of military force from Congress.
Strengths
A permanent regional command with four decades of theatre focus, standing access relationships across the Gulf, and service components that give it air and maritime instruments in the same headquarters.
Limitations
Its own strike claims are the primary evidence for most of what it has done, and this module treats them as claims by a participant rather than as established fact. The absence of a congressional authorisation is a live question in the United States rather than a settled one. Nothing in this record or its subordinates describes deployments, force levels by location, basing arrangements, readiness, sortie rates or posture; the module publishes what the command is and what it has said it did, not where anything is.
Subordinate formations
Rows are layout only — position and order carry no hierarchy, importance, sequence or strength. Every record shown is an immediate subordinate of the selected organisation.
Lineage & institutional history
Campaigns
Campaigns naming this organisation as a participant. The campaign record owns the relationship and grades it; this list is computed.
- The 2026 interstate war Primary force · Since 28 February 2026 · high confidence · as of 2026-09
The command conducting the American campaign. CRS carries CENTCOM's own reporting of the target totals and of the maritime interdiction, naming the command directly. No authorisation for the use of military force was obtained.
- The twelve-day war, June 2025 Primary force · 13 – 24 June 2025 · moderate confidence · as of 2025-06
Struck three nuclear facilities on 22 June 2025. The regional command is Vigil's institutional identification; no US component is named by the source.
Key events
A United States strike on a school in Minab kills 168 people
A Tomahawk strike on a school in Minab, Iran kills 168 people, most of them children. A preliminary investigation found the United States responsible and attributed the strike to outdated targeting information.
United States and Iranian exchange of strikes
United States Central Command states it struck Iranian military sites after the IRGC attempted to attack United States troops and commercial shipping in the strait; Iranian media report strikes at Sirik, Konarak, Bandar Abbas, Jask, Asaluyeh, Ahvaz and Qeshm. Iran conducts retaliatory strikes against United States facilities in Jordan, Bahrain and Iraq, and Kuwait reports its air defences engaging drones and missiles.
Campaign involvement
The Gulf War and the United States basing posture that followed
Iraq's invasion of Kuwait and the coalition campaign that reversed it are followed by a durable United States military presence in the Gulf, hosted under bilateral arrangements with several states.
The twelve-day war between Israel, the United States and Iran
Israel begins strikes on Iran on 13 June 2025; the United States strikes three nuclear facilities on 22 June; a ceasefire is announced on 24 June.
United States and Israeli strikes on Iran open the war
A large-scale United States and Israeli strike campaign against Iran begins. The Congressional Research Service records more than ten thousand targets struck in Iran by 25 March, and reports the operation's cost as exceeding $11.3bn in its first six days — a figure it notes excludes many associated costs. Iranian retaliation against Israel, United States facilities and Gulf states begins the same day.
A naval interdiction of Iranian oil exports begins
Flows from Kharg Island are reported disrupted following the start of a United States naval interdiction of Iranian oil exports. United States Central Command reported redirecting over 140 ships and disabling nine vessels during the blockade.
Quick actions
System access
Where this record connects into the rest of Vigil. Each row is here because this organisation actually reaches it.
Assessed as of2026-09Last reviewed2026-09-04
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