This latest round follows an earlier seven-hour operation completed at 10 pm ET on Tuesday, during which US fighter jets, drones and naval vessels struck dozens of targets near the Strait of Hormuz and along Iran’s coastline, including missile and drone sites, naval assets and coastal defence installations. “US fighter aircraft, drones, and naval vessels launched precision munitions against Iranian missile and drone sites, naval capabilities, and coastal defence systems during the seven-hour wave to further degrade Iran’s ability to threaten commercial shipping and civilian crews,” CENTCOM said.

The strikes coincided with Washington reimposing a naval blockade on vessels moving to and from Iranian ports, which came into force at 4 pm ET on Tuesday. CENTCOM reaffirmed its stance going forward, stating that “US forces remain vigilant, lethal, and prepared to execute operations directed by the Commander in Chief.”

Iran hits back across the Gulf

Tehran wasted little time in responding. Iranian state broadcaster Press TV reported that the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps and the national army had launched missile and drone strikes against US positions in Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan, framing the attacks as retaliation under what it called “Operation Nasr 2”, the seventh wave of its response.

The IRGC claimed to have destroyed a Patriot air defence system, a satellite communications hub, and HIMARS rocket launchers in Kuwait, while telling the people of Jordan that its forces had “smashed the hangars of F-15, F-16, and F-35 fighter jets and destroyed a number of MQ-9 strategic drones” at the al-Azraq base. Strikes were also claimed against facilities belonging to the US Fifth Fleet in Bahrain.

GCC Secretary-General Jasem Albudaiwi condemned the Iranian attacks on Bahrain, Kuwait, and Jordan, according to Al Jazeera, noting that the strikes had injured Kuwaiti military personnel.

Direct hit on Iranian barracks kills seven troops

In one of the most significant escalations yet, seven Iranian soldiers were killed and 13 wounded when a missile strike hit a barracks in the southeastern city of Bampur, in Sistan and Baluchestan province, marking what the Iranian military described as the first direct US attack on its army since the conflict began.

State broadcaster IRIB said the US had fired 13 missiles at the residential and accommodation quarters of the barracks, home to the army’s 388th Mechanised Infantry Brigade, which operates battle tanks and armoured vehicles. The army confirmed the casualties among the brigade and vowed a “decisive response” to what it called “US aggression.”

Notably, neither the earlier Israeli strikes that began on 13 June nor the joint US-Israeli attacks of 28 February had directly targeted Iranian army or IRGC facilities, making this strike a marked shift in the campaign.

Government spokeswoman Fatemeh Mohajerani said more than 30 civilians had been killed in the recent wave of attacks on southern Iran, without giving further details. Iran’s Health Ministry spokesperson Hossein Kermanpour separately put the number of wounded at over 260, a sharply higher figure than in any previous round of the conflict.

Trump warns of further escalation

President Donald Trump signalled on Tuesday that the pressure campaign was far from over, warning that US strikes would intensify in the days ahead and that power plants and bridges would come under attack next week unless Iran returned to the negotiating table.

The renewed hostilities come despite a Pakistan-mediated memorandum of understanding that had been intended to de-escalate tensions and pave the way towards a lasting peace agreement. Instead, both sides have continued trading strikes while vying for control of the Strait of Hormuz, through which around a fifth of the world’s oil and gas trade normally flows.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard issued its own warning on Wednesday, threatening to halt all energy exports from the Middle East in response to the blockade. “The export of oil and gas from the region will be either for everyone or for no one,” it said.

The blockade itself has had a turbulent history, first imposed in mid-April, then lifted in mid-June following an interim deal that set a 60-day window for negotiations over Iran’s nuclear programme. Talks have since stalled as fighting over the strait intensified. When Trump announced the blockade’s return on Monday, he also floated a 20 per cent fee on ships passing through the strait, though he dropped the proposal hours before reinstating the blockade, citing requests from Gulf allies.

Missile alerts across the Gulf become routine

Bahrain and Kuwait once again issued missile alert warnings early Wednesday as Iranian fire came in, now a near-daily occurrence that continues to strain the fragile ceasefire. Jordan said it intercepted three incoming Iranian missiles, while Iran claimed to have struck targets in all three countries.

US Navy Admiral Brad Cooper, who heads Central Command, said Iran had fired dozens of missiles and drones at neighbouring Gulf Arab states. “US forces are holding Iran accountable for unwarranted aggression that continues to endanger innocent lives,” he said.

The current round of hostilities traces back to 28 February, when the US and Israel launched their campaign against Iran, prompting Tehran to effectively shut down the Strait of Hormuz by attacking and threatening vessels, a move that sent oil, fertiliser and other commodity prices soaring. More recently, Iran has targeted ships travelling a US-overseen route near Oman that lies outside its control, triggering the latest escalation.

Washington has threatened to force the strait back open, though experts caution that such an operation would require a far larger military presence, potentially including tens of thousands of ground troops.