The United States carried out a new wave of strikes against Iran on Wednesday, the Central Command of its armed forces (CENTCOM) reported, hours after Washington reimposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports in a marked return to open conflict between the two countries.
CENTCOM said on the social network X that the offensive “further degraded Iran’s ability to attack commercial traffic in the Strait of Hormuz.” During a 90-minute wave, U.S. forces “launched precision munitions against coastal defense systems and cruise missile storage and launch sites” on Greater Tunb island, the military command added.
The operation followed an earlier round of bombardments carried out hours before, when U.S. fighter jets, drones and ships fired precision munitions during a seven-hour nighttime operation against dozens of Iranian military targets. One strike hit a barracks of the Iranian army’s 388th Mechanized Infantry Brigade in Sistan and Baluchestan province, killing at least seven soldiers and leaving more than 260 injured across the country, according to Iranian officials. Washington also resumed daytime strikes, an unusual move that reflects the increasing pace of escalation.
Blockade and reciprocal threats
The United States had first imposed the blockade in April and lifted it last month after a provisional agreement that paused the fighting and opened a 60-day window to negotiate issues such as Iran’s nuclear program. Those talks stalled as the dispute over the Strait of Hormuz intensified, and the return of the blockade this week marked the de facto collapse of the truce.
In response, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps threatened to halt all energy exports from the Middle East. “The export of oil and gas from the region will be either for everyone or for no one,” the paramilitary force warned.
Iran, for its part, claimed responsibility for missile and drone attacks against Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan, all countries that host U.S. forces. Bahrain and Kuwait issued incoming-fire alerts in the early hours of Wednesday, while Jordan reported having shot down three Iranian missiles.
Trump’s role and the price of oil
U.S. President Donald Trump had suggested on Tuesday night, in an interview with Fox News, that attacks against Iran would continue over the next two days and that bridges and power plants could become the next targets if negotiations do not resume. The United States has already struck at least one bridge.
“You better reach an agreement, or you will have nothing left,” Trump said.
Brent crude, the international benchmark, was trading above $85 a barrel on Wednesday, more than 15% above its pre-war level, though still far from the nearly $120 reached at the conflict’s peak.
On Monday, alongside the reimposition of the blockade, Trump had announced a 20% tariff on ships transiting the strait, but he later abandoned that plan, citing requests from Gulf allies interested in investing billions of dollars in the United States.
Hormuz, the flashpoint
The Strait of Hormuz, through which in peacetime one-fifth of the world’s traded oil and natural gas passes, remains the epicenter of the conflict. During the provisional agreement, some ships had resumed passage along a route near Oman supervised by U.S. forces and outside Tehran’s control, but the reciprocal attacks in recent days have again disrupted that transit.
Washington has threatened to reopen the strait by force, although analysts say doing so would require a much larger navy and possibly tens of thousands of ground troops. Regional mediators continue to try to persuade the United States and Iran to resume negotiations.