The United States launched a new wave of strikes against Iran on Wednesday aimed at reducing its ability to threaten maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, while President Donald Trump warned that Washington could broaden the attacks unless Tehran returns to the negotiating table.
Late Wednesday, the U.S. military announced that it had carried out operations as part of the second wave of strikes conducted against Iran that day under the direction of President Trump.
In a statement posted by U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) on X, the military said the strikes targeted Iranian military capabilities used to threaten commercial and military vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz.
The statement added that the United States holds Iran responsible for the ongoing threats to maritime security.
Meanwhile, Iranian state media reported explosions in several cities, including Bandar Abbas, Rask, and Chabahar. Earlier reports had also cited explosions near southern locations, including Qeshm Island and Imam Khomeini Port. Iranian state media later reported that fresh U.S. strikes had targeted Bushehr, home to Iran’s only civilian nuclear power plant.
Iran, which once again disrupted navigation in the Strait of Hormuz over the weekend, vowed to keep the strategic waterway closed until what it described as U.S. aggression comes to an end.
At the same time, the United States reimposed its blockade on Iranian ports on Tuesday and resumed strikes against areas in southern Iran, particularly coastal locations overlooking the Strait of Hormuz.
Speaking to Fox Business, President Trump said that Iran wants to reach a settlement, as U.S. forces carried out the latest round of strikes.
Trump also told reporters that he does not favor setting deadlines when asked whether Iran had a specific timeframe before the United States would begin attacking Iranian bridges.
The continued escalation over recent days threatens to undermine diplomatic efforts aimed at preserving the memorandum of understanding signed by the United States and Iran on June 17, which formalized a ceasefire reached between the two sides in April.
The Strait of Hormuz remains the central flashpoint in the conflict that erupted on February 28, 2026, following the start of U.S. and Israeli strikes on Tehran.
Despite U.S. objections, Iran insists there will be no return to the pre-war status quo in the Strait of Hormuz, when vessels transited the waterway without Iranian fees or oversight. Tehran has warned that ships attempting to use routes other than the single corridor it has designated off its coastline could be targeted.
Control of the strategic waterway—which carried approximately one-fifth of the world’s oil supplies before the war—has provided Iran with considerable leverage and a powerful bargaining tool.
