CENTCOM said a 90-minute wave of precision attacks targeted military systems used against commercial shipping, while Iran threatened additional energy corridors and reported strikes against U.S. positions and regional allies.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
U.S. forces launched a new wave of attacks against Iranian military targets Wednesday, extending the campaign into a fifth consecutive day as Washington sought to weaken Tehran’s ability to strike commercial vessels traveling through the Strait of Hormuz.
U.S. Central Command said the operation began at 6 a.m. Eastern time and concentrated on coastal defense systems and cruise missile storage and launch facilities on Greater Tunb Island.
“At 6 a.m. ET today, U.S. Central Command forces began launching a wave of strikes against Iran. The strikes are designed to further degrade military capabilities Iranian forces have used to attack commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz,” CENTCOM said in a Wednesday morning post on X.
The 90-minute operation ended at 7:30 a.m. Eastern time, according to CENTCOM.
“CENTCOM launched precision munitions against coastal defense systems and cruise missile storage and launch sites on Greater Tunb Island during the 90-minute wave,” the command said. “The strikes further degraded Iran’s ability to attack commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.”
CENTCOM also released video of the latest military operation, which followed several earlier rounds of U.S. strikes against Iran.
The renewed attacks followed Iranian operations Tuesday against American allies and U.S. installations across the region, including targets in Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan.
Washington also reimposed a naval blockade after Iran repeatedly attacked commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, a critical maritime passage connecting the Persian Gulf with global markets.
President Donald Trump had initially proposed imposing a 20% “Reimbursement Fee” on cargo moving through the strait to compensate the United States for military protection. He later withdrew that proposal and said it would be replaced by trade agreements involving Gulf states.
The president’s changing approach comes as the administration increases military pressure on Tehran while seeking to preserve the flow of energy through the region.
Trump said in a prerecorded interview that the United States was “beating up Iran badly” and that the Strait of Hormuz must remain open.
He said attacks would continue until he determined that the campaign had achieved its objectives and indicated that Iranian energy infrastructure would be held in reserve as a later target.
Trump also said the United States would strike Iran hard Wednesday night and warned that the following week would become considerably worse for Tehran unless Iranian leaders returned to negotiations.
According to the president, potential future targets could include Iranian power plants and bridges.
Trump said U.S. officials spoke with Iran on Tuesday and warned Tehran that it “better make a deal.”
The administration’s military campaign has renewed attention on Trump’s broader energy strategy as oil markets respond to the possibility of interrupted exports from the Persian Gulf.
Global crude prices rose Monday after fighting resumed and remained near $80 per barrel, compared with approximately $69 in June.
Iran Threatens Additional Energy Export Routes
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps responded Wednesday by threatening to close other regional corridors used to export energy.
The United States “must brace for the closure of all other export corridors that benefit the U.S. and its allies,” the IRGC warned, according to Reuters.
“Regional energy exports are either shared by all, or denied to all,” the IRGC said.
The organization also said American military action would only delay the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
“As long as the US evil stays in the region, not a drop of oil and gas will be exported from the region,” the IRGC said.
The group reported attacks against weapons and parts storage facilities in Bahrain and Kuwait. It also said it targeted a drone ramp at Kuwait’s Ali Al Salem Air Base, American positions at Jordan’s Azraq base, the U.S. Fifth Fleet command headquarters and fuel facilities and equipment in Bahrain.
Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency said Tehran would respond to the American attacks.
Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said the United States was mistaken if it believed military strikes and the blockade would force Iran to seek negotiations.
He nevertheless said Iran could return to talks and exercise tolerance regarding the Strait of Hormuz.
Gharibabadi also said the memorandum of understanding between the parties effectively no longer existed and that other countries should not expect Iran to continue carrying out its terms.
Iran-backed Houthi forces in Yemen fired missiles into Saudi Arabia on Monday, claiming that the kingdom had bombed a Houthi-controlled airport.
The Houthis control much of northwestern Yemen and previously disrupted Red Sea commerce by attacking ships traveling through the Bab al-Mandab Strait between Yemen and the eastern coast of Africa in 2025.
U.S. Attacks Islands and Coastal Areas
The latest CENTCOM operation followed another round of attacks that began at 3 p.m. Eastern time Tuesday and was aimed at degrading systems used by Iran to target commercial shipping.
The United States struck Qeshm Island in southern Iran, while explosions were reported in the maritime area of eastern Hormozgan and Sirik.
Explosions were also heard in Bandar Abbas, Hengam Island, Bampur and Chabahar, although Iranian officials cited by Tasnim denied reports of blasts in Chabahar.
Additional explosions were reported in the port city of Bandar Imam Khomeini, while three projectiles reportedly struck a mineral water plant in Deloran.
Air defenses near Iran’s Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant were also reported to have become active.
The strikes formed part of an expanding campaign against Iranian coastal defenses, missile storage facilities and launch systems capable of threatening tankers and other commercial vessels.
Commercial Ship Attacks Kill Indian Crew Members
The intensifying conflict has also produced casualties aboard commercial ships operating near Iran and Oman.
Heramb Karmarkar, a 30-year-old Indian marine engineer, was killed aboard the Cyprus-flagged GFS Galaxy after the ship was struck off Oman’s coast Sunday.
Cypriot authorities said the vessel and its 24-member crew were hit by an “unidentified projectile,” according to Reuters.
Iran later said it had deliberately targeted the ship after the vessel attempted to travel through what Tehran described as an unauthorized route despite orders to change course.
Karmarkar’s father-in-law, Vivek Tandon, said the operating company informed the family of his death.
Karmarkar was the second Indian national reported killed aboard a ship in the region during the week.
India’s Ministry of External Affairs said another Indian crew member died Tuesday when an Iranian cruise missile hit a United Arab Emirates-flagged supertanker.
The deaths have underscored the danger facing civilian crews as military operations expand into commercial shipping routes.
Trump Leaves Kharg Island Option Open
Trump has also declined to rule out a U.S. operation against Kharg Island, the strategically important facility that handles roughly 90% of Iran’s crude oil exports.
“I can’t say that to you because if I did, it would be foolish,” Trump told Fox News chief foreign correspondent Trey Yingst during an interview on Special Report when asked whether he intended to seize the island.
Trump said previous U.S. attacks deliberately avoided Kharg Island’s petroleum facilities because they represented “a chunk of the world economy.”
“There are a lot of ways to skin this cat,” retired Vice Adm. Robert Harward, a former deputy commander of U.S. Central Command, said while discussing what a possible American operation against the island might involve.
Military experts have envisioned a potential assault beginning with hundreds of Marines landing on the island as helicopters, naval vessels and fighter aircraft establish control of the surrounding air and sea.
Such an attack could include a final demand that Iranian forces surrender before American personnel attempt to seize the facility.
The United States has not announced an operation against Kharg Island, and Trump’s statements stopped short of confirming that one is planned.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is meanwhile expected to travel to Washington on Saturday evening in an effort to meet with Trump, according to a report by Yedioth.
The Wednesday attacks mark the latest phase of a rapidly widening confrontation involving military installations, energy infrastructure, commercial shipping and American allies throughout the Middle East.
CENTCOM says its immediate objective is to reduce Iran’s ability to threaten vessels in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran, however, is warning that continued American action could lead to broader efforts to shut down energy exports across the region.
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