Washington — The U.S. military launched another round of strikes against Iran late Wednesday night, U.S. Central Command said, in the second night of attacks as diplomacy between the two countries appears to collapse.
CENTCOM said on X that Wednesday’s strikes are intended to “further degrade [Iran’s] ability to threaten freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.” It said the strikes were ordered by President Trump and are in response to Iranian attacks on three commercial oil tankers earlier this week.
CENTCOM has not offered any details on the extent of the strikes. Iranian state media outlets reported that explosions were heard in several cities, including the southern port city of Bandar Abbas.
Hours earlier, Mr. Trump vowed to “hit [Iran] hard again tonight.” Asked about the three-month-old ceasefire between the two countries, which has repeatedly been mired by on-and-off fighting, he told reporters: “As far as I’m concerned, it’s over.”
This week’s back-and-forth began with Iranian attacks on three oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz on Monday and Tuesday. The Trump administration retaliated by striking dozens of targets inside Iran on Tuesday and rescinding a sanctions waiver that allowed Iran to sell its oil abroad. Iran then fired drones and missiles at U.S.-allied Kuwait and Bahrain.
The latest round of fighting could endanger already tenuous peace negotiations between the U.S. and Iran. The two sides signed a memorandum of understanding last month to extend their ceasefire by 60 days, reopen the Strait of Hormuz, end a U.S. blockade on Iranian ports and begin easing sanctions on Iran. The two countries also agreed to hold two months of further talks to tackle thorny issues like the fate of Iran’s nuclear program.
Since then, there have been a handful of military exchanges between the U.S. and Iran, and both countries have accused each other of violating the deal. Commercial ships have begun returning to the Strait of Hormuz, easing oil prices, but Iran has continued to push for some degree of control over the strait — a demand the U.S. has rejected.
On Wednesday, Mr. Trump appeared pessimistic about diplomatic talks with Iran, calling the country’s leaders “sick” and saying “it’s just a waste of time dealing with them.”
“I’ll let our wonderful negotiators keep talking if they want, but I don’t see it,” he told reporters during a NATO summit in Turkey. “I don’t like these people, you know that.”
The president also said he’s “not sure I want to make a deal with them,” adding: “Let’s just finish the job.”
