US forces stepped up attacks on Iranian sites, reportedly striking key bridges and an airport, prompting retaliatory action by Tehran, even while the White House said talks between the warring sides were still under way and that diplomacy was still a viable option."At 2 p.m. ET today, US forces began conducting a new wave of strikes against Iran for the sixth consecutive night to further degrade Iranian military capabilities," US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement on July 16.White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said the ‘reason for the recent strikes over ⁠the course of ‌the last several days is because Iran violated the memorandum of understanding that we struck with them."

"Specifically, in the ‌memorandum of understanding that they signed, they were not to fire on commercial vessels moving through the Strait of Hormuz, and unfortunately they have made the tragic decision for them ‌to do that."Blasts Reported In IranEarly on July 17, Iranian state media reported explosions and attacks at several sites, although the reports could not immediately be confirmed and CENTCOM did not specify its areas of operations.Strikes around the Gulf island of Qeshm near the Strait of Hormuz, the focal point of the conflict in recent weeks, were reported by Iranian media.Tasnim news agency also reported that US fighter jets had attack the airport in Iranshahr, a city of about 100,000 people some 300 kilometers from the Gulf of Oman in the south of Iran.Separately, Fars news agency said that a bridge in Bandar Khamir had been targeted in a US attack. Bandar Khamir is on the Iranian mainland across from oft-struck Qeshm Island overlooking the Strait of HormuzExplosions were reported in Bushehr -- the city is home to Iran's only civilian nuclear plant, a strike that state TV called a "continuation of the American enemy aggression."Explosions were also reported at a railway junction in coastal Bandar Abbas and near Ahvaz, where residents told AFP that they had heard strong blasts for the second straight night.Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) claimed in two separate statements issued on July 16 that it had struck US military bases in Kuwait and Jordan.In one statement, the IRGC alleged that the US military had used its air bases in Jordan to launch attacks on Iran the previous night.