The US has attacked Iran for a second consecutive day, striking targets across the country as Tehran fired back at American bases in the region, pushing a fragile two-month ceasefire to the brink of collapse.
US President Donald Trump, angered by stalled talks and blaming Tehran for a US Apache helicopter shot down over the Strait of Hormuz, threatened further strikes unless Iran signed a deal immediately, telling Fox News he would “bomb the [expletive] out of them.” He added Iran had “taken too long” on a deal and would “have to pay the price”.
The US military's Central Command said it began its latest round of “self-defence” strikes at 1.15am Gulf time on Thursday, announcing about four hours later that the operation was complete.
“Centcom forces launched strikes on Iranian military surveillance capabilities, communication systems and air defence sites across Iran,” it said. Marine Corps, Air Force and Navy assets fired precision munitions at targets that “posed a threat to US forces and international commercial ships transiting regional waters”, it added.
Iran's Foreign Ministry branded the new US attacks a “flagrant violation” of international law and said they had “effectively rendered the April 8 ceasefire meaningless”.
As with previous day's attacks, the latest American strikes were reportedly concentrated around the Strait of Hormuz.
A senior US official told Axios that all the targets were in southern Iran, including air defence systems, radars and drone command-and-control units. Iranian state media reported attacks by “enemy projectiles” on the southern coast bordering the strait, near the towns of Minab and Sirik, while explosions were heard on nearby Qeshm Island. Both Sirik and Qeshm were hit in the first round of US strikes two days earlier.
The pattern suggests Washington is trying to do more than coerce Tehran back to the table. By degrading the air defences, radars and naval drone sites that underpin Iran's ability to threaten shipping – while Mr Trump openly acknowledged for the first time that the US has been escorting vessels through the strait for the past month – the administration appears intent on eroding Iran's control over the waterway and reopening it by military means, reassuring shipping companies and energy markets in the process.
Toll on shipping
Iran's retaliation was swift. Security alerts sounded across the region as the US embassy in Amman urged Americans to shelter in place, and Bahrain later issued an all-clear after warnings of an attack.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it fired 12 ballistic missiles at Jordan's Muwaffaq Salti Air Base, where US fighter jets are stationed, and claimed strikes on 18 American military targets in Kuwait and Bahrain, as well as a base in Erbil, Iraqi Kurdistan. These claims were not independently confirmed, and Kuwait temporarily closed its airspace.
Jordan’s military said it intercepted 20 missiles fired towards the Azraq region, with debris falling but causing no casualties or damage. Engineering teams were sent to secure fragments and check for explosives.
In Bahrain, civilians were also caught in the fallout. An 11-year-old girl was wounded during the Iranian attacks, according to Bahrain's Interior Ministry, which said she was treated at the scene. It reported cars on fire and damage to homes in Hamad Town and Manama from falling debris after drone interceptions.
The exchanges are the most serious test yet of the ceasefire agreed on April 8, which paused a war that began on February 28 with Israeli and American strikes that killed Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Early mediation efforts led by Pakistan, with support from Turkey, have since stalled, and Iran's Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday it would “need to reassess” the diplomatic path.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Thursday that Washington and Tehran had been close to finalising an agreement before this week's escalation, with negotiators still debating the final wording of a deal only days ago. "We were all optimistic that there would be an imminent agreement," he said, warning the latest attacks risked derailing diplomacy.
Iran's military command announced the “complete closure” of the strait, through which about a fifth of the world's oil passes, threatening to fire on any vessel attempting to transit. Iranian media reported that two ships were fired on. Centcom denied the waterway was closed, saying commercial ships were continuing to sail.
The danger to the region's shipping industry increased after the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said the engine room of tanker caught fire about 40km north-east of Sohar, Oman. Authorities are investigating and no pollution has been reported.
The death toll is also rising at sea. Three Indian sailors were killed in a US strike on the tanker MT Settebello in the Gulf of Oman, said Indian Shipping Minister Sarbananda Sonowal. The vessel, carrying a crew of 24, was hit near the Strait of Hormuz late on Tuesday. Twenty-one were rescued and three crew members, including the chief engineer, were later confirmed dead. Mr Sonowal called the incident “deeply unfortunate” and ordered the repatriation of survivors and remains.
Maritime officials warn that commercial shipping is becoming increasingly exposed as the Gulf becomes an active combat zone, with insurers already raising premiums on key routes.
The US embassy in Baghdad also issued a security alert urging Americans in Iraq to prepare for sudden travel disruption, signalling fears of wider regional spillover.
For all the escalation, both sides have kept their attacks limited and measured – aimed less at winning on the battlefield than at strengthening their hand in the back-channel talks both acknowledge are continuing. But with a ceasefire now reduced to little more than a name, the risk is that one miscalculation tips the exchanges into the full-scale war both say they want to avoid.
