U.S. launches multiple strikes on Iran as Tehran retaliates

Washington/Tehran — The United States launched two waves of military strikes against Iran's coastal defense systems and missile sites on Wednesday, intensifying an already volatile conflict after reimposing a naval blockade on Iranian ports. Iran responded by targeting U.S. military installations in neighboring countries, describing the confrontation as an "existential war" with the United States.

The latest escalation follows the collapse of a fragile ceasefire reached only days earlier, fueling fears of a return to full-scale regional conflict. Iran has also renewed threats to disrupt energy exports by restricting access through the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world's most critical maritime trade routes.

Tensions have risen sharply since Iran announced on Saturday that it had closed the Strait of Hormuz. Military operations in the area have further disrupted commercial shipping through the waterway, which previously handled nearly 20 percent of global oil and gas shipments. Reflecting market concerns, Brent crude oil climbed to a one-month high of $84.95 per barrel on Wednesday.

According to the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), American forces launched their first wave of attacks at approximately 6:00 a.m. EDT (1000 GMT), targeting coastal defense systems and cruise missile storage and launch facilities on Iran's Greater Tunb Island. A second round of strikes followed roughly nine hours later, hitting multiple military targets across Iran.

In a statement, CENTCOM said U.S. forces struck Iranian command centers, air defense installations, missile and drone capabilities, and coastal surveillance facilities. The military added that additional strikes targeted sites in Bandar Abbas, home to Iran's largest commercial port, as well as naval and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) facilities overlooking the Strait of Hormuz.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps confirmed it had launched retaliatory attacks against U.S. military positions in Bahrain, Kuwait, and Jordan. According to the IRGC, missile and drone strikes targeted a gathering of U.S. military personnel and a radar installation at Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait.

Three U.S. officials told Reuters that the strikes were designed not only to pressure Iran into reopening the Strait of Hormuz but also to weaken military capabilities that could pose challenges to future U.S. operations.

The U.S. military also reported disabling an unladen oil tanker that was attempting to sail toward Iran's Kharg Island after the vessel allegedly ignored repeated warnings. Officials said Hellfire missiles were fired into the ship's smokestack to disable it. Since reinstating its naval blockade on Tuesday, U.S. forces say they have redirected two vessels and disabled another.

Iranian media reported multiple explosions across the country's southern coastal region, including Bandar Abbas, Ahvaz, Konarak, Sirik, and Qeshm Island. Additional explosions were reported in Khondab, southwest of Tehran, while the Mehr News Agency said Iranian air defense systems were activated in the capital to counter what it described as "hostile threats."

State broadcaster IRIB reported that one U.S. strike landed near a hospital in Ahvaz that includes a pediatric cancer center, forcing a temporary evacuation. According to the broadcaster, families gathered outside the facility to care for displaced children.

Following the initial wave of U.S. strikes, Iran's senior negotiator, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, declared that the country's security depended on maintaining what he described as "Iranian arrangements" in the Strait of Hormuz.

"We are in an essential and existential war with America," Qalibaf said.

The broader conflict has claimed thousands of lives and displaced millions across the region, particularly in Iran and Lebanon, where fighting involving Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah movement has intensified. Iran's Tasnim News Agency, citing a Health Ministry official, reported that U.S. attacks in July alone had killed 35 people.

Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump maintained a confident tone while addressing attendees at the Pennsylvania Defense and Innovation Summit.

"We'll have Iran defeated soon. They'll be defeated very soon," Trump said, adding that Iranian leaders "want to settle so badly."

"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 added.

Earlier this week, Trump said U.S. negotiators had warned their Iranian counterparts that they should "make a deal."

An Iranian military spokesperson, however, insisted that reopening the Strait of Hormuz would require Washington to comply with a 14-point memorandum of understanding reportedly signed by both sides in June, along with what Tehran described as Iranian regulations governing maritime traffic through the strategic waterway.

Despite the ongoing hostilities, a rare diplomatic gesture emerged. President Trump announced that Iran had released an American citizen who had been prevented from leaving the country since 2024.

"The United States of America appreciates this gesture of goodwill by Iran," Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Human rights attorney Jared Genser identified the individual as Dena Karari, confirming that she had safely departed Iran and was traveling back to the United States.