New York : The United States launched a fresh round of military strikes on Iran on Wednesday, targeting sites linked to Tehran’s ability to threaten shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. The US military said the latest operation was aimed at keeping the strategically important Strait of Hormuz open to international shipping, a day after three cargo ships were attacked while passing through the waterway.
“The United States is holding Iran accountable for recent unjustified aggression against commercial shipping and civilian crews freely navigating a vital international waterway,” the statement said. A US official told Reuters, on condition of anonymity, that Wednesday’s strikes were expected to be more extensive than those carried out a day earlier.
The escalation came after Trump warned that the US would launch more strikes later on Wednesday night. Speaking to reporters at the NATO summit in Turkey before meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Trump signalled more military action. After leaving the NATO summit in Ankara, Trump posted videos on Truth Social that he said showed explosions in Iran. He warned Tehran against carrying out any further attacks on commercial shipping.
Earlier in the day, Trump said the latest exchange of attacks would not turn into a prolonged war. “Anything that happens is going to happen very fast,” he said, while also suggesting the US military might “just finish the job”. Trump also said the memorandum of understanding signed on June 17 had effectively collapsed. When asked if the interim agreement was still in place, he said, “To me, I think it’s over. I don’t want to deal with them.”
Even so, Trump said he did not expect the conflict to return to full-scale war and that it remained unclear whether talks for a permanent agreement would continue. At a press conference later on Wednesday, he said any fresh escalation would be short-lived and would ultimately make the region “safer, including for oil”.
The US also struck a railway bridge near Aqqala in northern Iran, according to Press TV, in what was the first reported strike in that region since the ceasefire. Iran’s official news agency IRNA reported that a firefighter was killed in an attack on Iranshahr Airport in southeastern Iran. Before the latest US strikes, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei accused Washington of violating the June 17 memorandum.
The latest escalation followed Iran’s reported attack on three cargo ships in the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday. The narrow waterway is one of the world’s most critical oil routes, carrying about one-fifth of global oil supplies before the war began with US-Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28. Although Iran has not claimed responsibility for the attacks on the ships, analysts say Tehran often uses such actions to increase pressure in negotiations.
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