US strikes Iran's military sites as Strait of Hormuz tensions escalate.
Iran retaliates against US military assets across Gulf states and Jordan.
Brent crude rises above $86 amid intensifying US-Iran conflict.
The United States has carried out another wave of strikes against Iran, targeting military installations along the country's southern coast and near the Strait of Hormuz, as fighting between the two sides intensifies and a fragile ceasefire signed last month comes under severe strain, Al Jazeera reported.
US Central Command said it completed a ninety-minute round of precision strikes at 7:30am Washington time, hitting coastal defence systems and cruise missile storage and launch sites on Greater Tunb Island. The strikes followed an earlier overnight campaign in which fighter aircraft, drones and naval vessels hit dozens of military targets near the strait and along Iran's coastline. Washington also reimposed a naval blockade of Iranian ports, with 21 US naval vessels deployed to the region, according to CENTCOM.
Iranian government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani said more than thirty civilians had been killed in recent American strikes across southern Iran, while Iran's health ministry said over 260 people had been wounded in the latest round of attacks. The Iranian army said thirteen US missiles struck Bambour Garrison in Iranshahr, killing seven soldiers and wounding others, with Tehran accusing Washington of deliberately targeting accommodation blocks to inflict maximum casualties. Explosions were reported in several cities and islands along Iran's southern coast, including Bandar Abbas, Qeshm and Bushehr.
Iran strikes back across the region
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it launched retaliatory attacks on US military assets in Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan, claiming heavy damage to the Fifth Fleet headquarters and fuel facilities in Bahrain and a logistics hub at Mina Abdullah in Kuwait. It also said it had destroyed aircraft shelters housing US fighter jets and MQ-9 drones. Jordan's military said its air defences intercepted and shot down three Iranian ballistic missiles that entered the country's airspace early on Wednesday.
President Donald Trump said in a Fox News interview that strikes on Iran would continue until he decided otherwise, warning that power plants and bridges could be targeted next. He said the US had urged Tehran to return to negotiations.
Oil prices rose sharply in response, with Brent crude climbing to 86.19 dollars a barrel, up considerably from near $70 before the latest escalation. The US Treasury separately announced it had frozen more than 130 million dollars by sanctioning cryptocurrency wallets linked to Iran's central bank, alongside fresh sanctions targeting a network accused of facilitating Iranian oil exports.
