The U.S. military continues to carry out attacks on Iran, and for the first time in the latest round of violence, it not only struck targets near the capital, Tehran, but also in the country’s north.
The U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) announced early Thursday that it had attacked multiple military installations and installations in the Strait of Hormuz to “further degrade Iran’s ability to threaten innocent seafarers.” The force also said it had disabled an oil tanker in the passage.
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At least 35 people were killed and more than 300 injured in the latest wave of attacks that began last Wednesday after CENTCOM launched attacks on Iranian port cities near the Strait of Hormuz. The United States says the attack was in retaliation for Iran’s attack on three commercial ships in the strait.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) announced that it targeted US military facilities in the Gulf country.
Here’s what happened in Iran and the US on Wednesday and Thursday, and what both sides have to say.
Where did the US attack?
Centcom said in a statement early Thursday that the U.S. airstrikes targeted Iranian command centers, air defense sites, missile and drone capabilities, and coastal surveillance facilities.
Centcom said multiple locations were affected on Thursday, including Bandar Abbas.
In the initial attack wave late Wednesday, a 90-minute bombing wave hit coastal defense and cruise missile facilities on Greater Tunbu Island, CENTCOM added. The small, strategically located island is located near the Strait of Hormuz and is believed to have a naval base, but details have not been made public. It is also believed to be the point where Iranian forces intercepted shipping routes.
Meanwhile, Iranian media reported attacks in Bandar Abbas, Qeshm Island, Sirik, Chabahar, Konark, Rusk, Kondab, Khorramabad, and Semnan.
A hospital in Ahvaz was reportedly hit by a strike, forcing the evacuation of 211 patients.
On Thursday, air defenses were activated in Tehran and neighboring cities of Pakdasht and Parchin. The Iranian military announced that an MQ-9 drone was shot down over the city of Andimeshk.
In a separate statement on Thursday, Centcom said it was reinforcing the naval blockade it re-imposed on Tuesday by using Hellfire missiles to neutralize a “non-conforming” oil tanker that was attempting to sail toward Iran’s Kharg Island.
How did Iran react?
Iran’s military on Thursday claimed retaliatory attacks on U.S. military facilities in Kuwait and Bahrain.
KUWAIT: The Iranian military said in a statement that it targeted U.S. military radar systems, Patriot defense systems and fuel tanks at Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait. In an earlier statement, the plane said it had struck a radar and a gathering point for American troops in Kuwait, as well as a U.S. military communications system and fuel depot at Al-Azraq Air Base in Jordan.
Bahrain: Drones also targeted the US Super Hawk radar and Patriot defense systems at Sheikh Isa Air Base in Bahrain, the military added.
Jordan: Meanwhile, Jordan announced on Thursday that it had intercepted eight Iranian missiles.
Iraq: Iraqi authorities say five drones attacked the city of Erbil, two crashed near a US military base and one was shot down near the US consulate. Iranian forces have not claimed any attacks.
What are both sides saying?
Iranian Parliament Speaker and Chief Negotiator Mohammad Ghalibaf said on Wednesday that Iran is prepared for a full-scale military conflict if the United States does not implement the terms of the interim agreement. The country is fighting an “existential” battle, he added.
Meanwhile, the Revolutionary Guards threatened to halt all energy exports from the Middle East, citing the reimposed US naval blockade on Tuesday.
“Oil and gas exports from this region are either in no one’s interest or in no one’s interest,” the ministry said in a statement.
Speaking at the Army War College in Pennsylvania on Wednesday, President Donald Trump reiterated his claim that Iran was pushing for a peace deal behind the scenes, but gave no details.
“They don’t like what we’re doing and they want to settle. We’ll see if we settle with them or just leave it at that,” he said.
But in a rare show of gratitude, President Trump on Wednesday thanked Iran through his Truth Social platform for the release of American Dena Kalari, who the United States says has been “unjustly” imprisoned in Iran since 2024.
Meanwhile, US Vice President J.D. Vance defended the war with Iran in an interview with podcaster Joe Rogan published Wednesday, but added that an agreement between the two countries is needed to end the conflict.
