- CENTCOM conducted self-defense strikes on multiple targets in Iran recently
- Strikes hit areas including Tehran, Fars, Bandar Abbas, Qeshm, Kish, and Isfahan
- Iran's IRGC responded with two-wave strikes against US forces in the region
For the second consecutive day, the United States military's Central Command (CENTCOM) said it carried out "additional self-defence strikes" against multiple targets in Iran shortly after US President Donald Trump and his war secretary warned of hitting the Islamic Republic "hard". According to local media reports, air defence systems were activated in the southern regions of the country, with explosions being heard in western Tehran, Fars province, Bandar Abbas, Qeshm Island, Kish, Minab, and some areas in central Isfahan, straining the already fragile ceasefire between the two nations.
In response, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said that they had struck bases in Kuwait and Bahrain in response to the latest US strikes. "During two waves of operations, eighteen important targets belonging to the US Army in the bases of Ali and Ahmad Ahmad Air Force (were hit)," the Guards said in a statement quoted by state-run IRNA, adding that they also "hit and destroyed Sheikh Isa air bases".
Iranian media earlier reported that Iran had attacked the US Fifth Fleet in Bahrain.
Additionally, the IRGC, in a statement, said it has closed off the Strait of Hormuz, a vital chokepoint for global oil shipments, to "all vessels". "Effective immediately, due to insecurity in the region, the Strait of Hormuz is declared closed to all vessels, including oil tankers and commercial ships," the IRGC source said, according to a report by CNN.
CENTCOM 'Fact-Checks' Hormuz Claim
Shortly after, the US CENTCOM flagged that the Iranian claim of the Strait of Hormuz being closed was false. It fact-checked the IRGC statement, noting that "Commercial ships are continuing to transit in and out of the Strait of Hormuz tonight" despite the fresh hostilities.
Trump Says Tomahawk Missiles Hit Iran
Talking to Fox News, US President Trump said if Tehran doesn't sign a peace deal put forward by US negotiators, the American forces will again bomb "tomorrow night", reportedly using an expletive.
Trump also said that "49 Tomahawk missiles were used to hit targets inside of Iran, some of them as close as 40 miles [64km] from the Iranian capital of Tehran".
"The president said the US fighter jets are also operating over the skies of Iran, taking out radar systems and air defence systems in the southwestern part of the country, close to the Persian Gulf," Fox reported.
According to the report, Trump also said that top Iranian officials called him and asked the US to stop bombing.
Iran's Warning
IRGC Aerospace Force commander, Brigadier General Majid Mousavi, meanwhile, warned that Iran would respond across the region if the Strait of Hormuz were destabilised.
"We will bring the region into hell for you from across Iran if you make the sacred Strait of Hormuz unsafe," he said.
Citing senior officials, Iranian media also reported that US President Trump's claim of having a direct discussion on a phone call with senior Iranian officials was false. Per the reports, there has been no such communication between the two sides.
Air Raid Sirens In Bahrain And Kuwait
After the IRGC said it attacked US bases in the Middle East, air raid sirens were heard in several places in Bahrain. The country's Interior Ministry has told people to "remain calm and head to the nearest safe place".
In Kuwait, the general staff of the army announces that air defence systems were intercepting "hostile aerial targets" in accordance with the "adopted operational procedures".
It urges citizens to adhere to the security and safety instructions and guidelines issued by the competent authorities and to obtain information from the approved official sources.
The second day of American strikes comes hours after Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan — all of which host US troops — came under Iranian fire.
