The U.S. military completed a new wave of strikes Tuesday on targets in Iran as the conflict in the region stretches into its seventh month.
U.S. Central Command announced strikes on Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps targets including air defense sites, radar systems, maritime assets, mine laying capabilities, and communications sites.
One U.S. strike hit a home hosting a wedding, killing five people, including a child, and wounding dozens, according to the Associated Press and other outlets.
Centcom confirmed that more than 50,000 U.S. service members are currently operating across the Middle East and remain vigilant, lethal, and prepared to continue executing operations directed by the Commander in Chief.
President Donald Trump warned on social media following the latest strikes: “If the failed Nation of Iran retaliates for this very justified attack, they will be hit again at a much harder and higher level, but it will not be the biggest attack of them all, that is waiting in the wings.”
Trump had previously appeared to pivot toward bending Iran to his will through economic sanctions before the latest military escalation resumed in earnest.
Iran’s Armed Forces General Staff and its joint military command warned that Iranian armed forces would deliver what they described as “crushing and devastating blows” against the United States.
Iranian state television reported that U.S. forces struck a fishmeal factory on Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz, as well as several civilian targets in Hormozgan province, including a fishing pier and a Ports and Maritime Organization tower in Sirik.
The fresh round of strikes followed IRGC attacks on the King Hussein and Azraq military bases in Jordan on Monday, with Iran also targeting Centcom forces and helicopters at Al Minhad Air Base in the United Arab Emirates.
Centcom stated the strikes follow recent attempted attacks by the IRGC against commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and against American service members deployed to the region.
Oil futures climbed above $94 a barrel on Tuesday after U.S. Central Command announced the new round of military action against Iranian targets.
In rare conciliatory remarks, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Tuesday that Iran was prepared to return to a Memorandum of Understanding signed in June with the U.S. if Trump returns to commitments outlined in that document.
A June memorandum of understanding had sought to begin ending the war but collapsed when Iran and the U.S. disputed who held control over the Strait of Hormuz under the agreement’s terms.
The U.S. has enacted a naval blockade against Iranian oil exports in the Strait of Hormuz and had redirected 84 commercial ships, disabled three, and boarded two others since resuming the blockade in July, Centcom said.
Iranian media also claimed the IRGC carried out attacks in late August that “killed a large number of U.S.” forces, representing yet another escalation in the widening conflict.
