The United States launched airstrikes on Iran late Tuesday for the 11th consecutive night, escalating a conflict that has already destabilized the Gulf and raised fears of a direct confrontation over Tehran’s nuclear facilities.
U.S. Central Command (Centcom) said the strikes were aimed at “degrading Iran’s ability to threaten commercial shipping” in the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway for global oil supplies. Targets included Iranian military operations centers, drone storage facilities, aircraft hangars, and logistics hubs. Centcom accused Iran of attacking “more than 30 commercial vessels” in the strait over the past three months, endangering hundreds of mariners.
Iranian state media reported explosions in several cities, including Tehran, Tabriz, Chabahar, Konarak, and Bushehr — the site of Iran’s only nuclear power plant. Air defenses were activated in the capital, and at least one person was reported killed near Tabriz.
President Donald Trump warned that the U.S. would soon strike an underground nuclear site near Natanz, known as Pickaxe Mountain, suspected of housing undeclared enrichment facilities. “We’ll be hitting that area pretty soon, and very heavily,” Trump said during a meeting with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, adding that Iran could do “nothing” to stop it.
Iran’s Khatam Al-Anbiya military command responded that any strike on nuclear facilities would be considered “an expansion of war in the region,” threatening retaliation against “all the interests of America, the allies and supporters.”
The conflict has widened beyond Hormuz. Kuwait reported its air defenses intercepted Iranian drones, while Bahrain and Jordan said they had also repelled missile and drone attacks. Meanwhile, the Houthis in Yemen, backed by Iran, announced plans to blockade Saudi ports by closing the Bab al-Mandab Strait. Two Saudi tankers carrying crude oil to China and India were forced to reroute toward the Suez Canal after the announcement.
The war has already cost the U.S. $37.5 billion, according to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who warned Congress that military training programs would be curtailed unless urgent funding was approved.
Although Iran and the U.S. signed a Memorandum of Understanding in June to halt military operations and reopen Hormuz, the ceasefire collapsed within weeks. With both sides trading strikes nightly, the risk of escalation into a broader regional war remains high, threatening energy markets and civilian infrastructure across the Gulf.
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