Tehran, Iran. The United States launched new strikes against multiple targets overnight in Iran, the U.S. military said on Wednesday, as President Donald Trump vowed further attacks if no peace deal is secured. The strikes marked the latest escalation in an exchange that threatens to reignite a full-scale war paused by a fragile ceasefire in early April.
U.S. military announces strikes
The military’s Central Command said the strikes were completed about four hours after they began shortly after midnight in Tehran. In a post on X, it said the targets included military surveillance capabilities, communication systems, and air defense sites across Iran.
Central Command said the strikes were launched in response to what it described as Iran’s unwarranted and continued aggression.
Iran reports counter-attacks
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said early on Thursday that it had launched counter-attacks on 18 U.S. military targets at airbases in Kuwait and Bahrain. Bahrain’s interior ministry said sirens were sounded.
Iranian news agencies also reported explosions in several cities, including Sirik, Kargan, Bandar Abbas, Minab, Varamin and Karaj.
Strait of Hormuz tensions
Iran’s top joint military command warned it would fire on any vessel attempting to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, which it said had been largely closed for months. Iranian media reported that two ships were fired upon.
U.S. Central Command denied that the strait was closed, saying commercial ships were still transiting the waterway despite Iran’s threats. Trump said earlier on Wednesday that vessels had been crossing the strait without Iran’s permission as part of a clandestine military mission.
Trump and Hegseth statements
Trump told Fox News reporter Trey Yingst on Wednesday evening that the strikes would stop shortly but that he would “bomb the shit out of them” if Iran’s leaders did not sign an agreement with the United States immediately, according to Yingst’s post on X.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said during a visit to Central Command in Florida that the strikes were intended to push Iran toward an agreement to end the conflict. He told reporters the action would advance U.S. military interests and enhance its diplomatic position.