The US launches fresh strikes on Iran as Washington says the campaign is meant to weaken attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz.
The US launches fresh strikes on Iran as the military says it is trying to further weaken Tehran’s ability to target ships in the Strait of Hormuz. The latest action marked the 10th straight night of strikes, coming after President Donald Trump said Iran would pay many times over for the deaths of US soldiers.
Trump said the previous night’s attack hit Iran very hard in honor of three US soldiers killed recently, including two in Jordan and one in Iraq. The US said Iranian military and communications sites were among the targets. Iran, for its part, said it had struck sites in Bahrain, Jordan and Syria, and President Masoud Pezeshkian said his country was now fighting a full-scale war with the US.
Even with the fighting, Tehran said diplomatic messages were still being passed through intermediaries, despite the collapse of a ceasefire. That detail suggests the channel between the two sides has not been fully cut off, even as the military pressure grows.
The wider region also saw more defensive action. Jordan’s military said it shot down three Iranian missiles late on Monday after sirens warned of incoming fire across the country. Earlier that day, Kuwait said its forces intercepted Iranian drones. Bahrain said drones launched by Iran targeted its air navigation systems, but traffic was not affected.
Iranian state media and the semi-official Tasnim news agency gave separate accounts of strikes and damage from the previous night. Tasnim said several cities were hit, including Tabriz, Chabahar, Konarak, Bandar Mahshahr and Bandar Imam Khomeini. Iranian state media also said two oil tankers exploded as they tried to cross the strait, while the IRGC said the vessels were on what it called an unsafe southern route. US Central Command disputed that account. The Strait of Hormuz remains the key flashpoint, and the latest Iran strikes show how quickly the conflict could continue to spill across the region and affect a vital shipping lane.
