US forces carried out a third consecutive night of strikes on Iran early Tuesday, expanding their campaign against Iranian military infrastructure as tensions over the Strait of Hormuz deepened and fresh attacks threatened one of the world's most important energy routes.
The latest operation came after President Donald Trump declared the United States would restore its blockade of Iranian shipping and maintain control over navigation through the strategic waterway. Speaking after the strikes began, Trump said the campaign would continue while insisting diplomacy remained an option. "We're hitting them very hard. And it'll continue, and we'll see what happens. We're knocking out all of their offensive capability and we're controlling the straits. We're putting the blockade back," he told reporters at the White House.
According to US Central Command (CENTCOM), the five-hour operation targeted military facilities in Bushehr, Chah Bahar, Jask, Konarak, Abu Musa and Bandar Abbas. The strikes focused on coastal defense systems, missile and drone sites, naval assets and other maritime capabilities that Washington said were being used to threaten commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. CENTCOM said more than 50,000 US service members remain deployed across the Middle East and described the mission as another step toward degrading Iran's military capabilities.
