U.S. launches new wave of strikes in escalating battle over Strait of Hormuz
Price of oil remains over $85 a barrel as war intensifies
International benchmark Brent crude oil was still trading over $85 a barrel Wednesday as intensified strikes in and around the Strait of Hormuz continue hampering the flow of oil and gas through the vital shipping lanes.
Brent crude shot up to $86 a barrel Tuesday, a one-month high, after President Trump announced the U.S. would reimpose its naval blockade of Iran’s ports and associated vessels.
Brent was trading early Wednesday at $85.50, while U.S. benchmark Texas Intermediate was selling for just under $80, both still significantly higher than pre-war levels, but below the peak of almost $120 per barrel that Brent hit at the height of the conflict
U.S. military announces new strikes on Iran
The U.S. military’s Central Command announced a new wave of strikes on Iran Wednesday morning, following a seven-hour barrage overnight.
“The strikes are designed to further degrade military capabilities Iranian forces have used to attack commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz,” CENTCOM said in a statement posted on social media.
The new strikes were announced just hours after the fourth consecutive nighttime assault, with the pace of attacks increasing since President Trump declared the ceasefire over on July 8.
Iranian officials report at least 30 killed, 260 injured in recent strikes
The latest round of overnight U.S. airstrikes on Iran injured more than 260 people, an Iranian health ministry official said Wednesday.
The comment by Hossein Kermanpour, a spokesperson for the ministry, did not include fatality statistics.
In a separate statement, an Iranian government spokesperson claimed at least 30 people were killed in “recent days,” without specifying exact dates.
Jordan, Bahrain and Kuwait report incoming attacks from Iran
The Kuwaiti military said early Wednesday morning local time it is confronting “hostile drone attacks” from Iran, hours after announcing it had shot down dozens of drones and missiles and reporting an Iranian strike on a Kuwaiti warship.
Bahrain also said its alert sirens were sounding.
Meanwhile, Jordan’s army said Wednesday it had shot down three missiles from Iran, as Tehran pressed attacks on U.S. allies in response to American strikes.
U.S. reimposes blockade on Iran, carries out more strikes
The U.S. military reimposed a naval blockade on Iran and intensified its airstrike campaign early Wednesday.
U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said Wednesday morning it had completed a seven-hour wave of attacks across Iran “to further degrade Iran’s ability to threaten commercial shipping and civilian crews.”
Days of retaliatory strikes across the Middle East by Iran and the U.S., and both nations’ attempts to assert control over the Strait of Hormuz, threaten to push the region back to all-out war.
U.S. wraps up 4th consecutive night of strikes, CENTCOM says
U.S. Central Command said it struck dozens of Iranian targets over the course of seven hours Tuesday evening, including missile and drone sites and “coastal defense systems.”
The goal was to “further degrade Iran’s ability to threaten commercial shipping and civilian crews,” CENTCOM said in a post on X after the strikes were completed.
CENTCOM has struck Iran for four consecutive nights.
Trump says U.S. will hit Iranian power plants, bridges next week unless Iranians “get to the table and negotiate”
President Trump told Fox News the U.S.’s strikes against Iran could get “really bad” next week, with attacks on Iranian bridges and power plants.
“We’re going to hit them very hard tonight. We’re going to hit them very hard tomorrow night. We’re going to hit them very hard the night after,” he said. “And then next week, it gets really bad for them, because next week comes the power plants, next week comes the bridges.”
The president continued: “We’re going to knock out all their power plants, we’re going to knock out all their bridges. Unless they get to the table and negotiate.”
Mr. Trump has threatened to hit Iranian bridges and power plants in the past. Experts say attacks on civilian infrastructure can constitute a war crime, though the Trump administration has said it will hit legitimate targets used by the military.
The president also told Fox News’ Trey Yingst his representatives delivered a message to Iran earlier Tuesday, urging them to “make a deal.”
“We’re being very careful with the civilian population, as you know. But I said, ‘You better make a deal, you’re not going to have anything left,'” he said.
