U.S. Central Command said additional strikes against Iran are underway as the Trump administration warns Tehran that attacks on commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz will bring continued military action.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
U.S. Central Command said Wednesday that American forces have begun a new round of strikes against Iran at President Donald Trump’s direction, expanding the U.S. military response to Tehran’s recent attacks on commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
CENTCOM said the additional strikes are intended to further reduce Iran’s ability to threaten freedom of navigation in the key waterway, where Iranian forces have recently targeted civilian vessels and their crews.
“The United States is holding Iran accountable for recent unjustified aggression against commercial shipping and civilian crews freely navigating a vital international waterway,” CENTCOM said in a statement shared in an X post.
The new strikes came as Trump administration officials sharpened their message to Iran, warning that the United States will continue military action if Tehran keeps attacking ships.
Vice President JD Vance said Wednesday in Milwaukee that the administration’s understanding with Iran had been simple: Washington would ease its blockade if Tehran stopped attacking commercial traffic moving through the Strait of Hormuz.
“They were good. They were well behaved for about a week, but then they started shooting at ships,” Vance told reporters.
“The deal is very simple. If they shoot at ships, we’re going to knock the hell out of them. … They can either follow it or they can have exactly what happened to them last night. It’s just going to keep on happening until they open up that lane and stop shooting at ships,” Vance said.
Vance said Trump remains committed to keeping the Strait of Hormuz open, calling it “that crucial artery through which we ship a lot of the world’s energy.”
Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi responded Wednesday to Trump’s criticism of Iran’s leadership, saying on X that insults against Iranians would not weaken the country.
“Iranians are known for their civility, culture, and strong moral values,” Araghchi wrote. “We do not answer vulgarity with vulgarity, but with action: fearlessly and with great valor.”
Araghchi’s comments followed renewed U.S. strikes and the collapse of the U.S.-Iran ceasefire agreement. In a separate post translated from Arabic, he thanked Iraq’s government, people and religious authorities for what he described as their “warm hospitality” and “dignified farewell” for Iran’s “martyred Imam,” saying the relationship between Iran and Iraq is rooted in “shared values” and “a common destiny.”
The escalating conflict comes as the United States maintains a large naval presence in the region. Multiple U.S. Navy officials said the U.S. has roughly 20 Navy ships and support vessels operating in the Arabian Sea with about 20,000 sailors and Marines.
The deployment includes two carrier strike groups led by the USS Abraham Lincoln and USS George H.W. Bush. It also includes the Boxer Amphibious Ready Group and 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit aboard the USS Boxer, USS Comstock and USS Portland.
Officials said 24 U.S. naval vessels are currently positioned across the broader region, including four guided-missile destroyers in the eastern Mediterranean and at Souda Bay, Greece.
One change from last week is that the USS Tripoli Amphibious Ready Group and the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit have shifted operations to the Indian Ocean, while the USS New Orleans remains in the Arabian Sea.
As the Iran conflict intensified, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced a separate Middle East policy move involving Syria. Rubio said Wednesday that Trump formally notified Congress of his intent to rescind Syria’s designation as a state sponsor of terrorism, beginning the required 45-day congressional notification period.
Rubio said in an announcement that the move follows Trump’s sanctions relief executive order, counterterrorism steps taken by the Syrian government under President Ahmed al-Sharaa and assurances that Syria “will not support acts of international terrorism in the future.”
“Today marks a significant milestone in the revived U.S.-Syria bilateral relationship,” Rubio said, adding that lifting sanctions is intended to help unlock trade and investment while supporting Syria’s reconstruction.
The latest U.S. strikes, Iran’s response and the expanded American military posture in the region signal that the collapse of the ceasefire has moved the conflict into a new phase centered on the Strait of Hormuz and the security of commercial shipping.
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