The United States launched fresh strikes on Iran on Thursday, targeting bridges, transport infrastructure, and other key sites. In response, Iran attacked a US airbase in Jordan with ballistic missiles. This escalation follows a preliminary deal signed last month aimed at ending the conflict, which erupted in February with massive US-Israeli strikes on Iran.
US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced the new wave of strikes, stating their aim was to 'further degrade Iranian military capabilities.' Iranian state media reported strikes on two bridges, a railway station, and an airport in the southern part of the country, near the strategic Strait of Hormuz. Three people were killed in the attack on the bridges in Hormozgan province.
Tehran had previously warned it would target infrastructure across the region if the US followed through on threats to attack power plants and bridges in Iran. The White House, however, stated that President Donald Trump remained 'open to diplomacy.' Iran's Revolutionary Guards claimed they struck a US airbase in Jordan in response to an American attack near a children's cancer hospital in Ahvaz.
US allies in the Gulf also responded to the attacks. Kuwait reported its air defenses were again combatting missile and drone attacks, and Bahrain sounded air raid sirens. A senior Iranian military spokesman called for the US to withdraw from the region, stating 'we will never back down over the Strait of Hormuz.'
The US has reimposed its blockade of Iran's ports, and American military forces have boarded ships in the Gulf of Oman to ensure compliance. Pakistan's foreign office spokesman urged all sides to end violence and resume talks, but Iran's top negotiator warned that a deal 'only has meaning when its clauses are valid and being implemented.'
