Airstrikes were reported in Iran on Wednesday evening. The US also launched airstrikes on Tuesday in response to two days of Iranian attacks on shipping.
Overall, Iran and the US appeared to trade blows, with Iran having attacked ships and then Gulf states. Iran claimed dozens of strikes, while the US claimed it had hit 80 targets. The US is now seizing the initiative through new airstrikes.
“At the direction of the Commander in Chief, US Central Command forces have started conducting additional strikes against Iran to further degrade their ability to threaten freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz,” US Central Command reported Wednesday evening. “The United States is holding Iran accountable for recent unjustified aggression against commercial shipping and civilian crews freely navigating a vital international waterway.”
Earlier on Wednesday at the NATO Summit in Ankara, US President Donald Trump said Iran was not being serious in negotiations over the memorandum of understanding. He slammed the Iranians, indicating that there would be more airstrikes.
Clearly, the US is seeking to seize the initiative. Instead of responding, it wants to take the ball and run with it. As such, this is part of an apparent new US policy since April to try to seize back the element of surprise, or at least get to shape the battlefield and determine the tempo of operations.
Iran may have been counting on US backing down
Iran is likely not surprised by the renewed airstrikes. It may have gambled there was a 50% chance the US would back down, as Tehran has counted on Trump backing down in the past.
The Iranian regime believes it can outlast the US. It also believed the US would refrain from airstrikes during the funeral of supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei, whose body is now in Iraq as part of a weeklong series of events.
It’s possible the renewed airstrikes could lead to new rounds of Iranian attacks. This could result in attacks against the Gulf states or on ships, or Iran could mobilize militias in Iraq or the Houthis in Yemen.
Iran has been seeking to bolster the Houthis in recent weeks. This means it’s possible a new front could develop.
Retaliation for Iranian attacks in Strait of Hormus
“Several explosions rock Iran as [the] US launches new strikes,” the Associated Press reported.
“President Donald Trump on Wednesday warned Iran that the US was preparing for another night of strikes, just hours after he said the ceasefire was over, but negotiations can continue,” the report said. “He said the strikes are continued retaliation for Iranian attacks on commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz.”
Open source intel accounts on X/Twitter said some of the airstrikes had hit Bandar Abbas, an Iranian coastal port city. It is the capital of its region and has a population of about 500,000 people.
Bandar Abbas is on the Strait of Hormuz and dominates a strategic area and the waterway. It is also the site of an Iranian naval base.
The Iranian navy was largely destroyed by the US in the conflict that began with US and Israeli airstrikes on February 28. Iran still has the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy of small fast boats and many missiles and drones.