Washington – US troops launched another round of strikes against Iran late Wednesday night, US Central Command said, in the second night of attacks as talks between the two countries appeared to be breaking down.
CENTCOM said in X that Wednesday’s strikes were aimed at “humiliation [Iran’s] force to threaten freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.” It said the strikes were ordered by President Trump in response to an Iranian attack on three oil tankers earlier this week.
The military said it hit about 90 Iranian targets, including air defense, drone and missile defenses, naval targets and transportation infrastructure along Iran’s coast. Iranian media reported that explosions were heard in several cities, including the southern port city of Bandar Abbas.
Early Thursday morning, Kuwait said it was “facing brutal missile and drone attacks.” Emergency sirens sounded in Bahrain. The two countries did not specify where the threats came from, but the Iranian attacks against the US-allied states in the Gulf closely followed previous US strikes on Iran.
Hours before, Mr. Trump had vowed to “hit [Iran] It’s difficult again tonight.” Asked about the three-month ceasefire between the two countries, which have often been plagued by internal and external wars, he told reporters: “For me, it’s over.”
After Wednesday’s strikes began, Mr. Trump wrote on Truth Social that “it will be very bad” if Iran attacks more ships.
This week’s streak began with Iranian attacks on three oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz on Monday and Tuesday. The Trump administration retaliated by hitting dozens of targets inside Iran on tuesday again to waive sanctions that allowed Iran to sell its oil abroad. Iran then fired drones and missiles at Kuwait and Bahrain in cooperation with the US.
The latest round of fighting could jeopardize already tense peace talks between the US and Iran. Both sides signed a memorandum of understanding last month extend their moratorium by 60 days, reopen the Strait of Hormuz, end the US embargo on Iranian ports and begin easing sanctions on Iran. The two countries also agreed to hold two more months of talks to address issues such as Iran’s nuclear program.
Since then, there have been several military talks between the US and Iran, and both countries have accused each other of violating the agreement. Commercial shipping has begun to return to the Strait of Hormuz, reducing oil prices, but Iran has continued to demand some control over the crisis – a demand the US has rejected.
On Wednesday, Mr. Trump appeared pessimistic about negotiations with Iran, calling the country’s leaders “sick” and saying it was “a waste of time to deal with them.”
“I will let the good negotiators continue to talk if they want, but I don’t see it,” he told reporters during a NATO summit in Turkey. “I don’t like these people and you know that.”
Later in the day, after the start of Wednesday’s strikes, Mr. Trump told reporters that Iran wants to “make a very bad deal,” but he doesn’t know if Iran is “worthy of making a deal.”
“I don’t know if they will honor the agreement,” he said.
