Donald Trump has authorized a new round of ballistic missile strikes on Iran, as US embassies across the Middle East issued fresh security alerts urging Americans in the region to remain on guard.
Roughly a dozen strikes have been launched against Iranian radar installations and military targets along a 300-mile section of coastline near the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz.
Iranian state media said attacks had hit Qeshm Island, an oil-rich area on the northern side of the strait. Explosions were also reported in the southern port cities of Bandar Abbas and Chabahar.
The latest US military action follows Iranian strikes over the weekend on American bases in Jordan, with US Central Command saying it is “hitting back hard” against the regime.
Trump also cautioned Tehran against any response to the new attack, declaring: “If the failed Nation of Iran retaliates for this very justified attack, they will be hit again at a much harder and higher level, but it will not be the biggest attack of them all, that is waiting in the wings and, when it is over, there will be very little left of the Islamic Republic of Iran!”
Earlier, US embassies in Qatar, Israel and Jordan issued warnings that rising tensions across the region had created a complex and unpredictable security environment, with the risk of rapid escalation.
“Americans currently in the Middle East should exercise heightened vigilance and be aware of potential flight cancellations, airspace closures, and travel disruptions,” the diplomatic warning said.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the regime’s hardline military force, attacked two commercial vessels attempting to pass through the Strait of Hormuz late Monday night.
Donald Trump has ordered a fresh wave of ballistic missile strikes against Iran after US embassies across the Middle East issued new security warnings to Americans in the region
Iranian state media has reported strikes on the country’s oil-rich Qeshm Island located on the northern side of the strait
US citizens abroad were urged to remain highly vigilant and prepare for possible flight cancellations, airspace closures and other travel disruptions
The latest strikes come despite Trump repeatedly claiming Iran’s military had been destroyed and the war was over, raising questions about why the US is still targeting its radar and military assets months later.
With military tensions escalating after months of standoff, Brent crude climbed 4 percent to $94 a barrel on Tuesday afternoon.
The US and Iran signed a 14-point ceasefire back in June that had been mediated by Pakistan. Both sides were given 60 days to negotiate an end to the war.
Fighting restarted within weeks, and the deal ran out on August 17 with nothing to replace it.
There are no talks going on now. Trump has said none are planned as refuses to extend the ceasefire.
The White House is demanding that Iran surrender its stockpile of enriched uranium and dismantle its nuclear program. Tehran has refused to make concessions unless the US lifts its naval blockade and allows Iran to control the strait.
‘They’re not going to make the kind of a deal that I feel is necessary,’ he said in the Oval Office back in August after the ceasefire ended.
Trump’s strikes also comes a week after his top officials said they were switching from bombs to money.
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The latest strikes come despite Trump repeatedly claiming Iran’s military had been destroyed and the war was over, raising questions about why the US is still targeting its radar and military assets months later
With military tensions escalating after months of standoff, Brent crude climbed 4 percent to $94 a barrel on Tuesday afternoon
A US attack helicopter is deployed in the Persian Gulf
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Tuesday the US would ‘economically asphyxiate this regime’ until it wants a deal.
Trump followed-up by vowing to launch a new ‘economic D-Day’ on Iran unless they agree to dismantle their nuclear program.
Six months in, neither side has budged despite repeated US and Israeli strikes.
