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The US has launched an offensive to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Washington has deployed low-flying fighter jets and Apache helicopters to strike Iranian ships and drones near the shipping corridor.
The waterway, which serves as a conduit for a fifth of the world's oil, has been almost completely closed after Tehran threatened to attack any ship using the strait with armed boats, mines and cruise missiles.
The US had planned to send warships to escort the ships through the area, but officials warned that the operation would probably take weeks to reopen the strait.
At the Pentagon on Thursday, General Dan Caine, the chairman of the Army Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that "A-10 Warthogs are now engaged across the southern flank, targeting fast attack craft in the Strait of Hormuz."
He later confirmed that Apache helicopters had also been deployed and said that the US military had dropped 5,000-pound penetration bombs on Iran's underground weapons storage facilities.
Washington has also accelerated the deployment of the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit from California.
The task force, with about 4,500 sailors, is expected to arrive in the Middle East within two days.
The operation to reopen the Strait of Hormuz gained new urgency on Thursday as oil prices rose above $100 a barrel.
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