The United States stepped up its military campaign against Iran early Thursday, carrying out strikes deeper into northern parts of the country while also disabling a vessel it accused of attempting to breach its naval blockade. Iran responded before dawn by launching missiles and drones toward Bahrain and Kuwait.
The latest exchange of attacks between the US and Iran across the Middle East, along with renewed tensions over the Strait of Hormuz, has undermined the interim agreement aimed at ending the conflict and raised fears of another full-scale war. Iranian officials said US strikes have killed more than 35 people and injured over 300. The attacks also reached areas around Tehran for the first time during this latest escalation.
After the US and Israel launched military operations against Iran on Feb. 28, Tehran effectively shut the Strait of Hormuz to commercial shipping. The move drove up global prices of oil, fertilizer and other commodities while giving Iran added leverage in negotiations.
The sharp rise in energy prices has created political challenges for US President Donald Trump and his Republican Party ahead of November's congressional elections. However, Washington has struggled to reopen the key shipping route, prompting Trump to restore the naval blockade on Wednesday.
Iranian Parliament Speaker and chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf said Tehran was ready for a broader military confrontation if the US failed to honor the terms of the interim agreement. Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard also warned it could stop all energy exports from the Middle East in response to the blockade.
"The export of oil and gas from the region will be either for everyone or for no one," the Guard said.
Trump again claimed Iran wanted a peace agreement but gave no further details.
"They don't like what we're doing, and they do want to settle. We'll find out whether or not we settle with them, or we just finish it off," he said Wednesday at the US Army War College in Pennsylvania.
Iranian state media reported that US strikes early Thursday targeted areas around Tehran as well as Semnan province, home to Iran's ballistic missile production facilities and space program.
On Wednesday, the US resumed conducting daylight strikes, reflecting an increased pace of military operations. US Central Command said its attack on Greater Tunb Island, a strategically important location in the Strait of Hormuz, targeted Iranian missile and defense positions.
The US military also said it fired on the Curacao-flagged oil tanker Belma, which was heading toward Kharg Island, Iran's main oil export terminal in the Persian Gulf. According to the military, the vessel ignored repeated warnings, prompting a US aircraft to disable it by firing a missile into its smokestack.
Another US strike on Wednesday hit barracks belonging to Iran's 388th Mechanized Infantry Brigade in Sistan and Baluchestan province, Iranian state television reported. The report said at least 13 missiles were fired, killing seven soldiers, including both conscripts and career personnel, while several others were wounded.
Strait of Hormuz remains central to the conflict
The Strait of Hormuz continues to be the main focus of the conflict. Reopening the strategic waterway has remained a major challenge for Washington since Iran restricted shipping during the early days of the war.
During the interim agreement, some commercial vessels resumed using a US-monitored route near Oman that lay outside Iran's control.
In recent days, however, Iran has attacked ships using that route, triggering further exchanges with US forces. Washington has warned it could reopen the strait by force, although military experts say such an operation would require a significantly larger naval deployment and possibly tens of thousands of ground troops. Reimposing the blockade is seen as another means of increasing pressure on Tehran.
Meanwhile, oil prices continue to climb. Brent crude, the global benchmark, traded above $85 per barrel on Thursday, more than 15% higher than before the war, though still below the nearly $120 per barrel recorded at the peak of the conflict.