The US military has continued strikes against Iran, hitting targets further north and close to the capital Tehran for the first time in the latest round of violence. US Central Command (CENTCOM) said early Thursday it struck several military sites and assets to “further degrade Iran’s ability to threaten innocent mariners” in the Strait of Hormuz.
CENTCOM also said it disabled an oil tanker in the strait. At least 35 people have died and more than 300 wounded in the wave of attacks that began last Wednesday after CENTCOM launched strikes on Iranian port cities near the Strait of Hormuz. The US claims the attacks are retaliation for Iran hitting three commercial ships in the strait.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it targeted US military assets in neighboring Gulf countries. CENTCOM stated that US airstrikes targeted Iranian command centers, air defense sites, missile and drone capabilities, and coastal surveillance facilities. Multiple locations were hit, including Bandar Abbas on Thursday.
An earlier wave of strikes late Wednesday hit coastal defense and cruise missile sites on Greater Tunb Island, a strategically located island near the Strait of Hormuz believed to hold a naval base. Iranian media reported attacks in Bandar Abbas, Qeshm Island, Sirik, Chabahar, Konarak, Rask, Khondab, Khorramabad, and Semnan. A hospital in Ahvaz was forced to evacuate 211 patients after reportedly being hit.
Air defenses were activated in Tehran and neighboring Pakdasht and Parchin on Thursday. The Iranian military said an MQ-9 drone was shot down over Andimeshk. CENTCOM separately said it was enforcing a naval blockade reimposed on Tuesday by disabling a “non-compliant” oil tanker attempting to sail towards Iran’s Kharg Island using Hellfire missiles.
Iran’s army claimed retaliatory attacks on US military assets in Kuwait and Bahrain on Thursday. In Kuwait, it targeted radar systems, the Patriot defense system, and fuel tanks at Ali Al Salem airbase. In Bahrain, drones targeted US Super Hawk radars and Patriot systems at Sheikh Isa airbase. Jordan said it intercepted eight Iranian missiles on Thursday. Iraqi authorities said five drones attacked Erbil, with two crashing near a US base and one shot down near the US consulate.
Iran’s parliament speaker Mohammad Ghalibaf said Iran is prepared for a fuller military confrontation if the US does not live up to the terms of the interim deal, calling it an “existential” battle. The IRGC threatened to halt all energy exports from the Middle East over the US naval blockade.
Speaking at the US Army War College in Pennsylvania on Wednesday, President Donald Trump reiterated his claims that Iran is pushing for a peace deal behind the scenes but did not provide details. “They don’t like what we’re doing, and they do want to settle. We’ll find out whether or not we settle with them, or we just finish it off,” he said. Trump also thanked Iran for releasing American citizen Dena Karari, whom the US says was “wrongfully” jailed since 2024.
US Vice President JD Vance, in an interview with podcaster Joe Rogan, defended the war on Iran but added that an agreement is needed to end the conflict.
Source: www.aljazeera.com