The United States and Iran exchanged fresh military strikes on Thursday, deepening tensions across the Middle East as both sides battled over control of the strategic Strait of Hormuz despite renewed calls for diplomacy. Iran launched retaliatory attacks against US allies in the Gulf after American forces carried out strikes……
The United States and Iran exchanged fresh military strikes on Thursday, deepening tensions across the Middle East as both sides battled over control of the strategic Strait of Hormuz despite renewed calls for diplomacy.
Iran launched retaliatory attacks against US allies in the Gulf after American forces carried out strikes on multiple Iranian targets, reigniting hostilities barely a month after a preliminary agreement aimed at ending the conflict.
Tehran warned it would target critical infrastructure across the region if US President Donald Trump carried out his threat to attack Iran’s power plants and bridges.
The latest escalation followed an exchange of attacks in which Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they fired ballistic missiles at a US air base in Jordan, describing the operation as retaliation for an American strike near a children’s cancer hospital in Ahvaz.
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Iranian state media reported that the hospital was evacuated after the airstrike, with patients transferred to other medical facilities.
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Foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei condemned the attack, describing it as “barbaric.”
A resident of Ahvaz, identified as Hani, recounted the intensity of the bombardment.
“My hands are shaking. There were at least 11, 12 explosions. My ears are exploding,” the 34-year-old teacher said.
The US Central Command (CENTCOM) said its forces targeted Iranian military positions, including facilities in the coastal city of Bandar Abbas, with the aim of reducing Iran’s ability to threaten commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
It added that earlier operations also struck coastal defence systems and cruise missile sites on Greater Tunb Island.
Iranian authorities also reported explosions in Semnan, Lorestan and parts of Tehran, while Kuwait said it intercepted Iranian drones and Bahrain activated air raid sirens as the conflict spread across the Gulf.
According to AFP, the Strait of Hormuz remains at the centre of the confrontation after Iran reimposed a blockade on the vital shipping route, insisting it would remain closed until what it described as US aggression ends.
Pakistan, which helped broker last month’s preliminary agreement, urged both countries to return to negotiations, with Foreign Ministry spokesman Tahir Andrabi saying Islamabad would “continue to encourage all sides to end violence and resume technical-level talks.”
However, Iran’s chief negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, questioned the value of the agreement.
“If Iran is not to derive any benefit from the memorandum of understanding, we have no reason to adhere,” he said.
Trump, meanwhile, warned that more severe military action could follow if Tehran refused to resume negotiations.
“Next week it gets really bad for them,” he told Fox News.
According to AFP, Iran’s military responded by threatening to strike “all infrastructure in the region” if Washington carried out further attacks, while the Revolutionary Guards confirmed launching two waves of missile strikes against a US base in Jordan and additional drone attacks on American facilities.
AFP also reported that Kurdish authorities in Iraq said the US-led coalition intercepted eight explosive-laden drones over Erbil, while renewed American strikes in Iran have reportedly killed at least 30 people over the past week, according to Iranian government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani.
