Overview
- U.S. Central Command confirmed that American forces struck Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps targets inside Iran in operations that began on Tuesday, saying the strikes aimed to stop alleged IRGC attempts to attack commercial ships and U.S. forces in the Strait of Hormuz.
- Hours after the U.S. strikes, Iran launched coordinated missile and drone attacks across the Gulf directed at U.S. bases and regional partners in Jordan, Iraq, Bahrain, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, with several countries reporting that their air defenses intercepted many of the incoming projectiles.
- Iranian state and local officials report multiple civilian casualties from U.S. strikes, including deaths and scores wounded after a house hosting a wedding was hit in southern Iran, while U.S. military spokespeople say they do not target civilians and Iranian claims of U.S. fatalities or destroyed U.S. facilities remain unverified.
- The flow of maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remains heavily constrained, traders and officials say, and oil prices have jumped on fears of further disruption to a route that once carried about one fifth of the world’s traded crude.
- The renewed attacks end a roughly one-month pause in direct U.S.–Iran hostilities, complicate fragile diplomatic efforts to reopen the strait, put pressure on U.S. interceptor stocks and raise political stakes in Washington as President Trump warns of stronger strikes if Iran retaliates further.