The United States and Iran carried out fresh airstrikes on Thursday, marking a second straight day of escalating hostilities, while President Donald Trump warned that further military action could follow if Tehran does not immediately agree to a peace deal.
The latest escalation follows the downing of a U.S. Apache helicopter near the Strait of Hormuz earlier this week, an incident that triggered a series of retaliatory strikes between Iranian and U.S. forces across the region.
It marks the most serious strain yet on a fragile cease-fire reached in April, undermining hopes for a rapid end to the conflict that began in late February with large-scale joint U.S. and Israeli airstrikes on Iran.
The U.S. military said its latest operations targeted “military surveillance capabilities, communication systems and air defense sites across Iran,” describing them as a response to what it called Tehran’s “unwarranted and continued aggression.”
Trump told Fox News reporter Trey Yingst on Wednesday evening that U.S. strikes would pause soon but could resume if Iran’s leaders do not immediately agree to a deal, Yingst wrote on X.
Oil prices rose nearly $3 following Trump’s threat of escalation and extended gains in early Asian trading on Thursday.
U.S. Central Command said the strikes were completed about four hours after they began, shortly after midnight in Tehran.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it had launched counterattacks on 18 U.S. military targets at air bases in Kuwait and Bahrain, as well as the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet headquarters in Bahrain.
It later said it also targeted the al-Azraq air base in Jordan for a second consecutive night, firing 12 ballistic missiles at the U.S. installation.
Kuwait’s air defenses engaged hostile aerial targets, the U.S. ally’s military said, while Bahraini air defenses intercepted and destroyed incoming Iranian projectiles, a media adviser to Bahrain’s king said on X.
Iran’s top joint military command also warned it would fire on any vessel attempting to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, which has remained under intermittent disruption for months. Iranian media said two U.S. ships were fired on.
U.S. Central Command denied that the strait had been closed or that any of its ships had been struck, saying commercial vessels were still transiting despite Iran’s threats.
Iranian news agencies reported explosions in several cities across the country of about 93 million people, including Sirik, Kargan, Bandar Abbas, Minab and Karaj near the strait, as well as Varamin farther north near the Caspian Sea.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth described the strikes as part of an effort to push Iran toward a negotiated settlement.
The strikes would “advance our military interests and also enhance our diplomatic position,” he told reporters during a visit to U.S. Central Command in Florida.
“We will strike them hard tonight, and hopefully Iran makes a good decision,” he said. “If we need to negotiate with bombs, we’ll negotiate with bombs.”
The United States and Iran have traded fire several times since the tentative cease-fire took hold, even as negotiators have unsuccessfully sought to end the war, now in its fourth month.
Trump has repeatedly said a deal is close, though there has been no sign of a breakthrough, while also threatening to resume bombing.
Early Wednesday, the U.S. military targeted air defenses and radar sites around the Strait of Hormuz after Monday’s downing of a U.S. attack helicopter near the strategic waterway.
Iran responded with missile and drone attacks on U.S. bases in Jordan, Kuwait and Bahrain. A U.S. official said there was no significant damage.
Iran accused the United States of striking reservoirs supplying drinking water to villages and violating international law.
“This is not collateral damage, it is a calculated war crime and a flagrant violation of human rights,” foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said.
The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The war has killed thousands and disrupted global energy flows, sending oil and gas prices higher.
Iran has blocked traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, while the United States has maintained restrictions on Iranian ports.
The conflict has become a political headache for the White House, with polls showing Trump’s approval ratings slipping amid voter anger over higher gasoline prices.
Some Republicans have expressed concern that the war’s unpopularity could affect control of Congress in the upcoming midterm elections.
Fighting continued in a parallel conflict in Lebanon between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah.
Israeli airstrikes in southern Lebanon killed at least 13 people on Wednesday, Lebanese security sources said, while Hezbollah claimed new attacks against Israeli forces.
The Israeli military said two launches were detected landing near an area where troops were operating in southern Lebanon after sirens sounded in northern Israel early Thursday.
Tehran’s demands include an end to Israeli operations in Lebanon, the lifting of sanctions on Iran, the release of frozen assets and recognition of its position on the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump has said Iran must end restrictions on shipping through the strait and insists any deal must prevent Tehran from developing a nuclear weapon. Iran denies having any such ambition.
