U.S. naval warships and aircraft transit the Arabian Sea in June. (U.S. Central Command)
U.S. forces began new strikes against Iran on Wednesday, U.S. Central Command announced.
The attack began just hours after President Donald Trump, speaking at a NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, said the ceasefire was over and warned that the U.S. would “probably hit them hard again.”
“At the direction of the commander in chief, U.S. Central Command forces have started conducting additional strikes against Iran to further degrade their ability to threaten freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz,” CENTCOM said in a post on X. “The United States is holding Iran accountable for recent unjustified aggression against commercial shipping and civilian crews freely navigating a vital international waterway.”
Iranian state media reported explosions in several locations, including the port city of Bandar Abbas on the strait, Sirik, another southern coastal city, and Bushehr, home to Iran’s nuclear power plant complex, The Associated Press reported.
Hours earlier, the U.S. and Iran exchanged fire after multiple tankers were targeted in the Strait of Hormuz, setting off another round of hostilities and prompting accusations of ceasefire violations.
The U.S. struck more than 80 targets overnight, including “Iranian air defense systems, command and control networks, coastal radar sites, anti-ship missile capabilities, and more than 60 Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps small boats in and near the strait,” CENTCOM said.
Early Wednesday, reports from Kuwait and Bahrain indicated Iran had launched attacks against targets in those countries.
The Kuwaiti army said in a post on X that its forces were “confronting hostile missile and drone attacks.” Bahrain’s interior ministry sounded alarms and urged residents to take cover.
An interim peace deal reached last month has repeatedly been tested by attacks. Talks to fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz, halt Tehran’s nuclear program and reach a permanent end to the war that started Feb. 28 are on hold.