The U.S. has carried out a fresh barrage of deadly strikes on Iran, marking the most intense attacks in weeks after a relative lull.
U.S. Central Command said it carried out a wave of strikes on military targets in Iran on Tuesday following suspected Iranian attempts on ships in the Strait of Hormuz and U.S. military bases the day before.
Iran reported that several civilians, including a child, were killed and dozens more injured when shrapnel hit a home where a wedding celebration was taking place. CENTCOM said in a statement to media outlets that the “U.S. military never targets civilians, unlike the IRGC.”
In response, Tehran launched attacks at American military sites in Jordan, Kuwait, and Bahrain, and also claimed an attack on a U.S. facility in Iraq. The U.S. did not report any casualties. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) vowed “severe punishment” for the U.S. attacks.
President Donald Trump warned that further strikes could be carried out. “If the failed Nation of Iran retaliates for this very justified attack, they will be hit again at a much harder and higher level, but it will not be the biggest attack of them all, that is waiting in the wings and, when it is over, there will be very little left of the Islamic Republic of Iran!”
The latest exchange of attacks represents a sharp escalation after a fragile weeks-long pause in fighting. It comes after the U.S. and Iran resumed fire for the first time in a month over the weekend.
The Trump Administration had been pivoting to a strategy of economic pressure on Iran and its trading partners, seeking to force Iran back to the negotiating table. But the latest attacks cast doubt on the prospect of talks, even as Iranian President Mahmoud Pezeshkian signaled Tuesday that Tehran was open to talks so long as that the U.S. returns to the cease-fire conditions in the June 17 memorandum of understanding (MOU).
Iran reports civilian deaths from U.S. strikes
CENTCOM said it struck air defense sites, radar systems, maritime assets and facilities, mine laying capabilities, and communications sites.
Iran, however, reported that U.S. strikes killed civilians and damaged civil infrastructure. The southern port cities of Chabahar and Konarak were struck by four projectiles, Iranian state media IRNA reported, citing a provincial official. Projectiles also hit a wedding ceremony in the city of Kuhestak in Sirik County, Deputy Governor of Hormozgan Province Ahmad Nafisi told Mehr news agency.
At least five people were killed and more than 50 injured in Sirik, according to the Iranian Red Crescent Society, a humanitarian group. Mehr reported that a 4-year-old child was among the dead.
Tavanir, Iran’s national electricity company, said the strikes caused power outages in parts of Hormozgan Province.
Citing the deputy governor of Iran’s Khuzestan province, IRNA reported that another seven people were killed and eight injured in U.S. strikes on three locations in the province.
The New York Times independently verified photos from Sirik that showed damage to a communications tower and footage that showed significant damage, including a collapsed roof, to a building in a residential area near the tower.
Iran strikes back at U.S. sites
Hours after the U.S. attacks, Iran retaliated by launching missiles and drones at U.S. sites across the region. Jordan’s military reported that 13 ballistic missiles entered the country’s airspace, 10 of which were intercepted while the remaining three fell in remote areas. Kuwait’s military said its air defenses intercepted Iranian drone attacks.
Bahrain said it intercepted Iranian drones which Iran said were aimed at a U.S. air base. The IRGC also claimed missile and drone attacks on U.S. military equipment warehouses in Iraq. Neither the U.S. nor Iraq have confirmed the attack.
When will the war end?
The latest escalation began Sunday after the U.S. military claimed it struck two Iranian launchers on Larak Island that were preparing to fire rockets carrying naval mines into the Strait of Hormuz. Iran did not confirm that such preparations were underway. Iranian media reported that the U.S. strikes on Sunday killed at least two people and wounded several others.
Iran retaliated by launching missiles at U.S. bases in Jordan and the United Arab Emirates. Neither the U.S. nor the host countries reported any casualties. On Monday, two supertankers carrying Saudi crude were struck by projectiles within minutes of each other as they sailed out of the Strait of Hormuz. Iran did not claim responsibility for the attack, although CENTCOM said its subsequent strikes were prompted by attempted IRGC attacks on commercial shipping in the Strait.
Negotiations between the U.S. and Iran have repeatedly faltered in recent months, dimming hopes for an end to the war. Days after the U.S. and Iran signed an MOU in June that temporarily reopened the Strait of Hormuz to commercial shipping, Iran appeared to target ships that it said used unapproved routes. Control of the Strait has remained Tehran’s key point of leverage, allowing it to disrupt global energy supplies and raise the economic cost of the war as it seeks more favorable terms in any settlement.
Beleaguered by reports of dwindled munitions, which Trump has adamantly refuted, Washington has increasingly emphasized economic pressure. Its campaign has included a naval blockade on Iranian ports and expanded sanctions on Iran. The U.S. has also threatened Iran’s trading partners with secondary sanctions in an effort to isolate the country, which is suffering from a collapsing currency and severe inflation. Analysts have said the approaching mid-term elections add pressure on Trump to avoid an open-ended war or an unfavorable deal, although he has insisted that the elections have no impact on his strategy.
But analysts previously told TIME that Iran has repeatedly demonstrated that it is prepared to endure substantial economic and military pain rather than accept terms it considered surrender. “This is an existential conflict for the Iranian regime, and every day they remain in power is a victory from their perspective, and a humiliation from Trump’s,” William Figueroa, an assistant professor of international relations at the University of Groningen, told TIME in May.
On Wednesday the Financial Times reported that Russia was secretly helping Iran develop supersonic cruise missiles, capable of targeting U.S. naval vessels in the Middle East.
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