The United States launched two distinct sets of strikes against Iranian targets on Wednesday after reimposing a naval blockade on Iranian ports, prompting immediate counterattacks by Iran against U.S. military positions in the region. The clashes mark a sharp intensification of hostilities that followed the collapse of a fragile truce, with both sides signaling continued confrontation.
Operations and targets
U.S. Central Command said its forces began an initial wave of attacks on Iranian coastal defense systems and cruise missile storage and launch sites on Greater Tunb Island at about 6:00 a.m. EDT (1000 GMT). Nine hours later, U.S. forces carried out a second set of strikes against multiple cities in Iran.
In an official statement, the U.S. military said, "U.S. forces struck Iranian command centers, air defense sites, missile and drone capabilities, and coastal surveillance facilities," and added that it also struck targets in Bandar Abbas, which is home to Iran’s largest port and key naval and Revolutionary Guards facilities on the Strait of Hormuz.
The U.S. military further described the first strike as a 90-minute operation, saying, "Earlier this morning, American forces struck coastal defense and cruise missile sites on Greater Tunb Island during a 90-minute wave."
As part of maritime enforcement tied to the blockade, U.S. forces disabled an unladen oil tanker that was attempting to sail toward Iran’s Kharg Island after the vessel ignored multiple warnings. The military said Hellfire missiles were fired into the ship’s smokestack. Since the blockade was resumed on Tuesday, the U.S. said it had redirected two ships and disabled another.
Iranian retaliation
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it struck U.S. military targets in the region, including in Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan. The IRGC reported that one of its attacks hit a gathering for U.S. military personnel and that a missile and drone strike targeted a radar system at Ali Al Salem air base in Kuwait.
Domestic Iranian media reported a string of explosions, mainly in coastal areas such as Bandar Abbas. Additional explosions or projectile strikes were reported around Ahvaz, which lies inland from the northern end of the Gulf, and in the southern coastal towns of Konarak, Sirik and Qeshm. Press TV reported at least two explosions in the central city of Khondab, while Mehr news agency said Iran activated its air defenses in Tehran to counter what it called "hostile threats." Iranian state broadcaster IRIB reported one of the U.S. attacks struck near a hospital in Ahvaz that houses a pediatric cancer center, forcing a temporary evacuation, with families taking their children out into the streets around the hospital.
Context and stakes
The military exchanges follow a period in which Iran said it had closed the Strait of Hormuz late on Saturday. The closure, together with continued military operations, has prevented ships from transiting the waterway. Prior to the war, the Strait carried about a fifth of global oil and gas shipments.
Markets reacted to the escalation. Brent crude oil, the international benchmark, closed at a one-month high of $84.95 a barrel on Wednesday.
Three U.S. officials told Reuters that strikes intended to force the reopening of the strait are also focused on Iranian military capabilities that the U.S. would want to neutralize before conducting more complex operations.
Political statements and claims
After the initial wave of U.S. strikes, Tehran’s top negotiator Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf issued a statement asserting that Iranian security depended on maintaining what he described as "Iranian arrangements" in the strait. Qalibaf said, "We are in an essential and existential war with America."
Former U.S. President Donald Trump, speaking at a roundtable event at the Pennsylvania Defense and Innovation Summit, adopted a combative tone, saying, "We’ll have Iran defeated soon. They’ll be defeated very soon." He added that Iranians want to "settle so badly," and said, "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." On Tuesday, Trump also said U.S. negotiators had been in touch with their Iranian counterparts to tell them, "you better make a deal."
Iran’s military spokesperson said the only way to reopen the Strait of Hormuz was for the U.S. to comply with the 14-point memorandum of understanding that the two sides signed in June and to implement "Iranian regulations" regarding ship traffic in the strait.
Human and regional toll
The conflict has already inflicted heavy human costs, according to statements quoted by Iranian outlets. The war has killed thousands and displaced millions, primarily in Iran and Lebanon, where fighting resumed between Israel and the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah. Tasnim news agency cited a health ministry official saying U.S. attacks in July have killed 35 people.
Amid the wider confrontation, there was a reported sign of limited goodwill. President Trump said Iran had allowed an American who had been "wrongfully detained" under the Biden administration in 2024 to leave the country, adding on Truth Social, "The United States of America appreciates this gesture of Goodwill by Iran." Human rights attorney Jared Genser identified the released American as Dena Karari, who had been prevented from leaving Iran since December 2024, and wrote on X that "Dena is now safe and traveling back to the United States," thanking Trump for his efforts to secure her release.
Immediate implications
The exchange of strikes, the naval blockade and Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz have combined to disrupt a route that previously carried a substantial share of global oil and gas shipments, and to push benchmark crude prices higher. Military officials have described U.S. actions as focused on degrading Iranian capabilities tied to coastal defense and missile systems and on controlling maritime movements in the Gulf region.
At the same time, Iranian forces have demonstrated an ability and willingness to strike U.S. military positions beyond Iran’s borders, underlining the regional scope of the confrontation and the risk of further escalation.
Reporting on the sequence of strikes, retaliatory attacks, market reaction and political statements reflects official military statements and Iranian media reports as described above. Details remain fluid as operations continue and authorities release further information.