US military begins launching more airstrikes at ‘multiple targets’ in Iran
US Central Command (Centcom) forces have begun launching more strikes at “multiple targets” in Iran, it said said in a post on X.
The strikes began at 5.15pm EST on Wednesday – after midnight on Thursday local time – “at the Commander in Chief’s direction”.
“The strikes are in response to Iran’s unwarranted and continued aggression,” Centcom said.
Key events
US says commercial ships are continuing to transit the strait of Hormuz
US central command has said that commercial ships are continuing to transit “in and out of the Strait of Hormuz tonight,” contradicting claims from Iran that the strait has been closed.
Soon after the US began its latest round of strikes, Iran’s top joint military command said it was closing the strait of Hormuz for “passage of any vessels”, and that any vessel that attempts passage will be targeted.
Access to the strait has been restricted for months, with only a small number of vessels managing to enter or exit the key waterway at any time.
In his interview with a Fox News reporter, Trump also repotedly said the US bombing of Iran will “stop shortly”, but said he was leaving open the option of launching further strikes.
The US president also said that Israel was not involved in the Thursday strikes on Iran.
Donald Trump claims he spoke directly with Iranian officials
Donald Trump has told Fox News that he spoke directly with Iranian officials who asked him to stop strikes on the country, according to a reporter at the network.
Iranian state media has been quick to deny these claims though; citing senior officials who deny that any Iranian officials spoke with the US president.
“Trump’s ‘false claim’ about contact with Iranian officials is ‘cover to avoid war against Iran”, Iranian state media is reporting.
Following the announcement from Iran that the strait of Hormuz was closed, state media is claming that two vessels have been targeted.
Two ‘violating ships’ attempting passage through the strait of Hormuz were hit, according to Iranian media. There was no confirmation of these attacks from the US or shipping analysts.
In its announcement, Iran’s top joint military command said any vessel that attempts passage through the strait would be targeted.
The closure order includes oil tankers and commercial ships.
Iran says strait of Hormuz closed for passage of any vehicles
Iran’s top joint military command has said it is closing the strait of Hormuz for “passage of any vessels”, adding that any vessel that attempts passage will be targeted.
The closure order includes oil tankers and commercial ships.
Access to the strait – a choke point for about a fifth of the global oil supply – remains restricted by Iran, while the US maintains a blockade on Iranian ports. The interruption to global shipping and energy supplies have had knock-on effects around the world, increasing the prices of food, energy and other goods.
Trump claimed on Wednesday that the US has been taking oil out of Iran: “I’m just announcing today for the first time, but we’ve been taking out millions of barrels of oil, millions of barrels every night.”
Without sharing any other details, he added: “Millions of barrels of oil has come out, and that’s why it’s at $85-$90 a barrel, instead of $250.”
In the hours before the US began this fresh round of strikes on Iran, the US embassy in Baghdad issued new warnings to its citizens
In a statement it advised US citizens in Iraq “to maintain heightened readiness and stay alert to local news sources” as “travel disruptions and airspace closures could occur on short notice.”
Washington previously issued a warning for US citizens not to travel to Iraq and advised those there to leave. The statement reiterated that warning.
Iran-backed Iraqi militias have been launching regular attacks on US bases and diplomatic facilities the region, since the US and Israel began in late Feburary.
Speaking at a ceremony in Jerusalem on Wednesday evening, Israel Katz, the Israeli defence minister, said the campaign against Iran was “far from over” and warned that if Iran attacks Israel again, “it will suffer a severe blow.”
The comments came before the US began striking Iran for a second day.
Israel and Iran traded fire earlier this week for the first time in two months, but halted their attacks on each other after an appeal from Donald Trump to “immediately stop shooting”.
Hours before the US launched this new wave of attacks on Iran, US defense secretary told reporters that the strikes would be “strong” and “clear”.
He also raised the prospects of further round of strikes for tomorrow: “If they have to happen tomorrow night, they will be strong and they will be clear.”
Speaking to reporters after being briefed by commanders at US central command headquarters in Florida, Hegseth said the Thursday strikes would hit targets that “improve the environment for us to operate in and undermine the capabilities that Iran wants to have.”
They’re going to have tap, tap, tap bombs dropping on key facilities in Iran from the United States of America.”
Iranian state media is claiming that US ships near the strait of Hormuz have been targeted by missiles and drones launched by Iran’s armed forces.
Earlier, Iranian media reported “clashes” at sea between Iranian and US forces.
The US currently has a large contingent of naval forces stationed in the gulf of Oman, enforcing their blockade on the strait of Hormuz. There has been no confirmation from the US side of any attacks on their forces.
Iranian media are also reporting strikes on the port city of Bandar Abbas, with claims that explosion have been heard near the airport and airbase.
Bandar Abbas is a strategically important port city on the strait of Hormuz and home to Iranian naval forces. The city serves as the main southern naval command centre, and many of the operations to disrupt shipping in the strait are thought to originate from there.
The US struck Bandar Abbas a number of times on Wednesday, making Thursday’s strikes the fourth time it has been targeted during the ceasefire.
Iranian media are reporting that explosions on the islands of Qeshm and Hengam in the strait of Hormuz were caused by projectile hits.
Sirik, on the southern coast of Iran, has also been hit by “enemy projectiles”, Iran’s Press TV is reporting.
Many of these locations were targeted by US strikes yesterday, and are said by American officials to be radar sites and command centres.
Today so far
The US launched another assault on Iran, sending airstrikes at “multiple targets” at about 5:15 p.m. EST Wednesday, marking the second consecutive day of strikes that began in response to a military helicopter crash off the strait of Hormuz that Donald Trump said Iran had downed. Today’s strikes come after both Donald Trump and US defence secretary Pete Hegseth said that the US military was planning on striking Iran again. “We hit them hard yesterday and we’re going to hit them again hard today,” Trump said. Iranian state media reported hearing explosions in the port cities of Gorgan and Bandar Abbas.
Yesterday’s strikes hit two water reservoirs in southern Iran, leaving 20,000 without drinking water. Iran on Wednesday said the attack on the reservoirs were a “calculated war crime”, with a spokesman for Iran’s ministry of foreign affairs accusing the US of “deliberately targeting the lifeblood of the Iranian people”. The Iranian president, Masoud Pezeshkian, said that threats to target infrastructure are not a show of strength but “a sign of desperation”, adding that Iran will stand firm against any pressure or threat.
Even as he spoke of the US launching more airstrikes on Iran, Trump maintained that the US was “really close” to reaching a deal. Hegseth echoed Trump’s statement, but told reporters “if we need to negotiate with bombs, we’ll negotiate with bombs”.
Trump also announced on Wednesday that the US military carried out ‘secret mission’ to help move more than 100 million barrels of oil through the strait of Hormuz. Hegseth said this announcement proved the US blockade to be “ironclad” and that ultimately, the US controls the waterway.
In more Hormuz news, US Central Command (Centcom) posted on X that US forces fired upon a Palau-flagged oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman that was “attempting to transport oil from Iran” in violation of the US blockade. According to Centcom, US forces have disabled a total of eight non-compliant vessels since the blockade began on 13 April, in addition to redirecting 134 ships that had complied and allowing 42 humanitarian aid vessels to pass.
Israeli military operations have continued in Lebanon, with the the Lebanese health ministry on Wednesday updating the total death toll to 3,696 people have been killed in Israeli attacks since the fighting began on 2 March. In addition to the fatalities, 11,413 people have been injured, the health ministry said.
United Nations chief Antonio Guterres has warned of the risk of return to “full war” in the Middle East after Iran and the United States traded strikes. “We should not minimise the risks of a lesser fire becoming full fire, or in another word – full war,” secretary-general Guterres said at a meeting of the UN Security Council on the situation in the region.
