• Tehran threatens to close Hormuz; US forces bomb more targets overnight after Trump says ‘deal is over’• Iran hits targets in Kuwait, Bahrain; officials remain unbowed by threats• China, Qatar join push for diplomatic solution• UN chief ‘alarmed’ by renewed confrontation
TEHRAN/WASHINGTON: A renewal of hostilities between Iran and the United States drew fresh calls for de-escalation on Wednesday, with Pakistan — one of the main brokers of the ceasefire between the two countries — insisting that a renewed conflict was “in no one’s interest”.
The calls followed tit-for-tat strikes, with both sides claiming they had hit dozens of targets, placing fresh strain on their interim deal to end the war.
In the early hours of Thursday, US President Donald Trump made good on his claim from earlier in the day that US forces would “hit them hard tonight”, as fresh explosions were reported in the southern cities of Chabahar, Sirik and Bandar Abbas.
US outlet Axios reported that the latest strikes were aimed at degrading Iran’s ability to threaten freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.
