The U.S. has carried out a fresh barrage of deadly strikes on Iran, marking the most intense attacks in weeks after a relative lull.
U.S. Central Command said it carried out a wave of strikes on military targets in Iran on Tuesday following suspected Iranian attempts on ships in the Strait of Hormuz and U.S. military bases the day before.
Iran reported that several civilians, including a child, were killed and dozens more injured when shrapnel hit a home where a wedding celebration was taking place. CENTCOM said in a statement to media outlets that the “U.S. military never targets civilians, unlike the IRGC.”
In response, Tehran launched attacks at American military sites in Jordan, Kuwait, and Bahrain, and also claimed an attack on a U.S. facility in Iraq. The U.S. did not report any casualties. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) vowed “severe punishment” for the U.S. attacks.
President Donald Trump warned that further strikes could be carried out. “If the failed Nation of Iran retaliates for this very justified attack, they will be hit again at a much harder and higher level, but it will not be the biggest attack of them all, that is waiting in the wings and, when it is over, there will be very little left of the Islamic Republic of Iran!”
The latest exchange of attacks represents a sharp escalation after a fragile weeks-long pause in fighting. It comes after the U.S. and Iran resumed fire for the first time in a month over the weekend.
The Trump Administration had been pivoting to a strategy of economic pressure on Iran and its trading partners, seeking to force Iran back to the negotiating table. But the latest attacks cast doubt on the prospect of talks, even as Iranian President Mahmoud Pezeshkian signaled Tuesday that Tehran was open to talks so long as that the U.S. returns to the cease-fire conditions in the June 17 memorandum of understanding (MOU).
CENTCOM said it struck air defense sites, radar systems, maritime assets and facilities, mine laying capabilities, and communications sites.
Iran, however, reported that U.S. strikes killed civilians and damaged civil infrastructure. The southern port cities of Chabahar and Konarak were struck by four projectiles, Iranian state media IRNA reported, citing a provincial official. Projectiles also hit a wedding ceremony in the city of Kuhestak in Sirik County, Deputy Governor of Hormozgan Province Ahmad Nafisi told Mehr news agency.
At least five people were killed and more than 50 injured in Sirik, according to the Iranian Red Crescent Society, a humanitarian group. Mehr reported that a 4-year-old child was among the dead.
Tavanir, Iran’s national electricity company, said the strikes caused power outages in parts of Hormozgan Province.
Citing the deputy governor of Iran’s Khuzestan province, IRNA reported that another seven people were killed and eight injured in U.S. strikes on three locations in the province.
The New York Times independently verified photos from Sirik that showed damage to a communications tower and footage that showed significant damage, including a collapsed roof, to a building in a residential area near the tower.
Hours after the U.S. attacks, Iran retaliated by launching missiles and drones at U.S. sites across the region. Jordan’s military reported that 13 ballistic missiles entered the country’s airspace, 10 of which were intercepted while the remaining three fell in remote areas. Kuwait’s military said its air defenses intercepted Iranian drone attacks.
Bahrain said it intercepted Iranian drones which Iran said were aimed at a U.S. air base. The IRGC also claimed missile and drone attacks on U.S. military equipment warehouses in Iraq. Neither the U.S. nor Iraq have confirmed the attack.
