Newsletters
U.S. Central Command announced Wednesday evening that American forces had launched a new round of strikes against Iran, as Iranian media reported explosions near Bushehr province, home to the country's only operational nuclear power plant.
CENTCOM said the strikes were ordered "at the direction of the Commander in Chief" and were aimed at further degrading Iran's capacity to threaten commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
"The United States is holding Iran accountable for recent unjustified aggression against commercial shipping and civilian crews freely navigating a vital international waterway," the command said in a statement.
The CENTCOM statement described the latest action as "additional strikes," indicating a distinct and continuing operation rather than a holdover from the earlier overnight campaign.
Explosions in Bushehr province, reported by Iranian state media, had not yet been confirmed by official Iranian authorities, and no immediate details on targets or damage were available.
Bushehr carries outsized strategic weight. The province hosts Iran's sole civilian nuclear power plant, a Russia-built facility that has been struck multiple times since the broader conflict erupted in late February.
The province also lies adjacent to Kharg Island, through which the vast majority of Iran's crude oil exports pass.
The fresh strikes follow a sequence of escalations tied directly to the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway linking the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman through which a significant share of the world's oil supply transits.
CENTCOM framed the new wave of operations explicitly around freedom of navigation, the same justification cited in earlier strikes carried out Tuesday night and into Wednesday morning.
The military action deepens a crisis that has rapidly unraveled a fragile diplomatic framework. A memorandum of understanding signed in June had stipulated that Iran would allow commercial passage through the Strait of Hormuz while peace talks proceeded, in exchange for a lifting of the U.S. naval blockade.
The U.S. Treasury Department moved to revoke a sanctions waiver on Iranian oil sales earlier on Tuesday, a step Iran's foreign ministry characterized as a violation of the agreement.
With fresh explosions now reported near Bushehr and CENTCOM signaling that operations are ongoing, the prospects for a return to negotiations appeared increasingly uncertain.
Set as preferred source
Set as preferred source
1 min read
1 min read
