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US-Iran conflict widens with fresh strikes and Persian Gulf attacks
US-Iran conflict widens with fresh strikes and Persian Gulf attacks.
The United States and Iran expanded their military confrontation over the past 24 hours with fresh strikes, missile and drone attacks across the Persian Gulf and growing disruption to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz despite diplomatic efforts to preserve a ceasefire.
The latest US strikes hit southern Iran on Thursday, with a provincial official saying an attack on a pier in Sirik killed three people and wounded 15 others. Iranian media also reported explosions near Bandar Abbas, while a Bushehr official said projectiles struck areas around the province's nuclear power plant.
US Central Command said it struck around 90 military targets, including coastal surveillance systems, air defenses, anti-ship missile positions, drone and missile storage sites, logistics infrastructure and dozens of Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps naval vessels, saying the operation was intended to reduce Iran's ability to threaten shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran responded by announcing missile and drone attacks on what it called US military facilities in Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar, saying it targeted air defense systems, fuel storage sites and other military infrastructure in retaliation for the US strikes.
The Pentagon said it targeted Iranian military sites involved in attacks on commercial shipping. Iran's foreign ministry said the US strikes hit civilian infrastructure, including two railway bridges on the route to Mashhad, where authorities planned to bury former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on Thursday.
Axios reported the White House was preparing for the possibility of a military exchange lasting days or even weeks depending on Iran's next moves in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran accused Washington of violating the memorandum of understanding reached after April's ceasefire and appealed to the UN Security Council, arguing the latest strikes breached both the agreement and the UN Charter.
The responses shared with Iran International pointed less to enthusiasm for military escalation than to exhaustion after nearly four months of conflict. Many described life in a state of "neither war nor peace," where even short-term decisions have been put on hold.