WASHINGTON — Newly released footage captures U.S. missiles streaking across the night sky before striking multiple sites in Iran, as President Trump used the moment to emphasize American military power.
The strikes mark a sharp escalation in a conflict that has now stretched for six months. Iranian state media reported that 18 people were killed in the latest U.S. attacks, among them people attending a wedding.
U.S. Central Command shared the roughly one-minute video alongside a statement confirming that the newest wave of military operations had concluded.
According to Central Command, the operation focused exclusively on military targets, including air-defense positions, radar installations, naval assets and facilities, mine-laying capabilities, and communications infrastructure.
Diplomatic efforts to secure a ceasefire, meanwhile, appear to have stalled.
No formal meetings between U.S. and Iranian officials have taken place in recent days, and Trump has given little indication that he is eager to restart negotiations.
“I couldn’t care less if they sign a worthless, to them, agreement. I like our position now much better, with almost total control of the Hormuz Strait, and their economy totally collapsing. They are just playing out the inevitable. When are the Iranian people going to rise up and fight?” the president wrote on social media.
Central Command said the strikes were carried out after Tehran allegedly attempted to target commercial vessels and U.S. forces in the Middle East. Washington had largely been relying on economic pressure to squeeze Iran’s economy, and these attacks were the first U.S. strikes in a month.
“The fastest way for the conflict to end is for no one to provide any support to this regime. We are going to sever every tie that [Iran] has to the outside world,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Fox News on Wednesday morning. “This is all hands on deck.”
Iran vowed to strike back, saying its forces would deliver “crushing and devastating blows” against the United States.
The Revolutionary Guards said Wednesday it had launched missiles overnight at an American military base in Jordan.
Meanwhile, Tehran contends four people were killed at a wedding celebration when shrapnel from a US missile hit a house in southern Iran.
“We are aware of reports, which originated from Iranian state media. The U.S. military never targets civilians, unlike the IRGC,” Navy Captain Tim Hawkins, a spokesman for Central Command, told The Post.
Control of the Strait of Hormuz remains the biggest obstacle to peace talks. Tehran insists it should have control over the ships passing through but the US wants it treated as open international waters.
The American military has a blockade on the critical waterway with the US Navy helping ships take a southern route through the strait near the coast of Oman.
