Middle East Erupts Again: 7 Updates on the Latest Massive US Bombardment of Iran

The Middle East has erupted once again, with the United States launching fresh strikes against Iran on Wednesday night Washington time, or early Thursday morning in Iran. This occurred as negotiations to end the ongoing war stalled, with Tehran retaliating by declaring the total closure of the Strait of Hormuz and vowing to fire on any vessels passing through the vital global energy route for oil and gas. Reports indicate the US struck multiple sites, describing the action as a ‘self-defence strike’ and accusing Iran of ‘unprovoked and continuous aggression’. Iranian media reported hearing several explosions in the southern part of the country, near the Strait of Hormuz, with some sources citing loud blasts in Qeshm, Kargan, and Sirik. The Iranian Navy was subsequently reported to have fired on two ships sailing in the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian media also reported that Iran had attacked the US Fifth Fleet in Bahrain, hitting communication antennae and radar facilities. The strikes represent the latest escalation following US attacks on Tuesday, which were met with Iranian retaliation against US military bases in Bahrain, Kuwait, and Jordan. US President Donald Trump said the strikes followed his complaints that negotiators in Tehran were dragging their feet and ‘playing’ with the US. Early in the week, he had hinted that a peace deal was only a few days away. ‘We hit them hard yesterday. We’re going to hit them hard again today,’ Trump told reporters on Wednesday morning. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth indicated the strikes could continue into a third night, describing the attacks as ‘strong’ and ‘clear’. Amid the latest strikes, Trump posted on his social media platform Truth Social, declaring that Iran’s military was in disarray and the ‘bully is dead’. He claimed that most of Iran’s Navy and Air Force were ‘already gone’ and had been completely defeated. Trump also claimed success in helping ships pass through the Strait of Hormuz, stating he had directed the US military on a covert mission to support oil tankers and commercial vessels. He announced that over 100 million barrels of oil had successfully passed through the strait into the open market, asserting that the United States, not Iran, now controls the Strait of Hormuz. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced on Thursday that it had attacked US bases in Kuwait and Bahrain in response to the latest American strikes, claiming to have hit eighteen important targets at Ali and Ahmad Ahmad airbases and destroyed the Sheikh Isa air base. The US military denied Iran’s claims that the Strait of Hormuz had been fully closed, insisting that commercial vessels continued to transit the waterway. US Central Command later stated it had ‘completed’ its latest wave of strikes against Iran, targeting military surveillance capabilities, communication systems, and air defence sites posing a threat to US forces and international commercial ships. Trump also claimed in a Fox News interview that Iranian leaders had called him directly to ask for a halt to the ongoing bombing campaign, a claim quickly denied as a ‘pretext to avoid war’ by the Revolutionary Guard.