U.S. Strikes Military Infrastructure, Iran Threatens Ships in the Strait of Hormuz

A second straight night of exchanges between the United States and Iran. Around 4:00 a.m., U.S. Central Command announced the end of a wave of strikes against Iranian military targets, while Iran continued to threaten a “decisive” response and said, “Any vessel passing through the Strait of Hormuz will be attacked.” President Donald Trump’s growing frustration, which led to the strikes, the hardening of Iran’s stance, and the American threat to continue, were all part of the overnight developments in the Persian Gulf, according to N12.

At a White House emergency meeting, an hour before the attack began, Trump convened a Situation Room discussion and considered launching a broad operation against Iran, following its continuing refusal to advance a deal. U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth hinted at what was coming, saying, “The U.S. military is going to be busy tonight.” According to the sources, the meeting in the Situation Room included Vice President Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine, White House envoy Steve Witkoff, and other senior officials. Around 00:30, a senior American official formally announced, “The wave of strikes in Iran has begun.”

Dozens of targets belonging to the Iranian military and the Revolutionary Guards were struck by the U.S. Air Force. Air defense systems, radar sites, and command-and-control units for UAVs were the main focus of the American strike wave. In addition, there was a report of a bomb that hit a petrochemical plant in Basalvia, but the report was denied by the Iranian authorities. Trump revealed on Fox that the U.S. military attacked targets across Iran with at least 49 Tomahawk missiles, with a focus on the south of the country, and the closest strike to Tehran was about 60 kilometers away. During the attack, Trump threatened the Iranians and told Fox, “We’re going to blow Iran to pieces if they don’t agree to a deal tomorrow.” The president also said Israel was not involved at all in the current strike wave.

After the American attack, the Khatam al-Anbiya headquarters of Iran’s armed forces announced during the operation that, “Due to the insecurity in the area, the Strait of Hormuz is closed to the movement of all types of vessels, including oil tankers and commercial ships.” The hostile statement emphasized that “any vessel that tries to pass through will be attacked.” Despite the aggressive threat, the Americans currently say that maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remains open to commercial vessels. In addition to the threat, sirens were activated across the Persian Gulf, apparently in response to an Iranian counterattack. After the response, the Revolutionary Guards claimed they had hit 18 “important” U.S. military targets at the Ali al-Salem and Ahmed al-Jaber bases in Kuwait and at Sheikh Isa Air Base in Bahrain.

Trump reportedly told his senior aides to send a message to Tehran through Qatar that the strikes were a response to the downing of the Apache helicopter, not a resumption of full-scale war. According to The Wall Street Journal, military pressure will only intensify until Iran yields to the terms set by the president. The paper also said Trump did not expect to see the ceasefire collapse as it did. Meanwhile, the Qatari delegation that arrived in Tehran on Wednesday to try to advance a deal turned back without managing to make any progress, according to The New York Times. The American president has been waiting for about two weeks for an Iranian response to the proposed deal, which includes concessions from the United States.