Arabic version: الضربات العسكرية الأمريكية على إيران بعد تحذير ترامب

The US military has launched new strikes on Iran after President Donald Trump said US forces would hit the country “hard” as Tehran has taken “too long to make a deal” to end the war. According to BBC News, the US Central Command (Centcom) stated that these “self-defense strikes” began on Wednesday against “multiple targets” as a reaction to Iran’s “unwarranted and continued aggression”.

This escalation comes after Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) navy reportedly struck two ships in the Strait of Hormuz. The Iranian military announced that vessels would be “targeted” in this strategically significant waterway, leading to a series of tit-for-tat airstrikes between the two nations.

Explosions have been reported on the island of Qeshm and in cities such as Bandar Abbas and Sirik. Following the US strikes, Iran’s military command issued a warning that all vessels, including oil tankers and commercial ships, transiting through the Strait would be attacked, claiming to have struck two oil tankers for what they termed “illegal passage”.

Trump emphasized on Truth Social that Iranian leaders have “taken too long to negotiate a deal”. In response, Iran’s president, Masoud Pezeshkian, asserted that the nation would resist any pressure or threats. US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth later said bombs would be “dropping on key facilities in Iran”, citing that Iran had been given a chance to make a deal but had not taken it.

Despite an earlier ceasefire agreement in April intended to last two weeks, both sides have engaged in intermittent exchanges of fire, with recent attempts at negotiations stalling. The situation has intensified, highlighted by a US helicopter downed in an attack attributed to Iran, prompting the IRGC to retaliate against US bases across the Middle East.