US, Iran continue escalating attacks

The US military conducted a 12th night of strikes against Iran as the two countries vie for control of vital shipping lanes.

US Central Command said its strikes were designed to "further degrade Iran’s ability to threaten civilian mariners and commercial vessels transiting regional waters,” as the Americans push to regain control over the Strait of Hormuz and restore the flow of international shipping.

President Donald Trump warned earlier on Wednesday that the US would destroy one bridge or power plant each time Iran shoots at a ship in the strait. Both sides have increasingly threatened civilian infrastructure.

International law generally prohibits such attacks unless the infrastructure is being used for military purposes.

"From this point forward, any time the Islamic Republic of Iran shoots at a ship in the Strait of Hormuz, whether it be by Missile, Rocket, Drone, or any other device or weapon, the United States will bomb and destroy ONE BRIDGE OR POWER PLANT,” Trump wrote on social media.

Scattered debris and smoke, at an unknown location, during what the US Central Command (CENTCOM) says are strikes on Iran, in this screengrab taken from a handout video released on Wednesday. Reuters

The continued American airstrikes are occurring as both sides have dug in on their dispute over the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial waterway for global energy that remains largely closed. The closure of the strait, through which a fifth of the world’s traded oil and gas passed during peacetime, has jolted the world economy with effects far beyond the Middle East.

Iran says it has the right to manage traffic and potentially charge fees in the strait, which was open to all and toll-free before the war. It has attacked ships using a route through the strait that is overseen by US forces and intended to be outside Tehran’s control.

In response to Iran’s attacks, the US re-imposed a blockade on Iranian ports and began the widening campaign of strikes across the country. On Tuesday, Trump signaled that US forces could soon target an under-construction Iranian nuclear site buried deep under a mountain.

Iran’s parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, who has led negotiations with the US, appeared to brush off Trump’s threats.

"We have repeatedly said that the situation of the strait will not return to prewar conditions,” he wrote on social media.

Trump travelled to Dover Air Force Base on Wednesday for the arrival of the remains of four US service members. A day earlier Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth estimated in a fiery Senate hearing that the US had spent $37.5 billion on the war so far.

A US Army carry team transports the flag-draped transfer case containing the remains of Army 1st Lt. Tyler James Feehan during a dignified transfer at Dover Air Force Base for military casualties in Dover, Delaware. AFP

In Iran, state media reported that US missiles struck locations overnight near the cities of Ahvaz, Ramshir and Andimeshk in western Iran, and two people were killed in a US missile strike in the town of Shalamcheh on the Iraqi border.

Iran has responded to US attacks by targeting energy infrastructure and desalination plants that provide drinking water in parched neighbouring Gulf countries.

Military officials in Kuwait said on social media that their air defences were "confronting attacks by hostile drones, following the sinful Iranian aggression.”

Iran’s Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said Tehran would adopt an "eye for an eye” defense doctrine.

"Any aggression against Iran, including our infrastructure, will compel a powerful and decisive response,” he posted Wednesday on X.

Iranian Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni held meetings in recent days in Pakistan, a key mediator in the conflict, seeking to revive diplomacy. But it was unclear what new arrangement might be reached to end the war, which lately has become a battle for control over the Strait of Hormuz.

Iranian drones are displayed during a ceremony of the joining new drones to the Iranian Army's combat organisation in an undisclosed location in Iran. Reuters

Iran’s Interior Ministry spokesperson Ali Zeinivand said "diplomacy isn’t called off” and that messages were still being exchanged, without elaborating, according to IRNA.

An Arab diplomat said Gulf states are increasingly pessimistic about finding an off-ramp for escalating hostilities and are particularly concerned about the latest round of threats.

The diplomat said countries in the region, in addition to Pakistan and Turkey, are continuing to push for de-escalation but that chances for improvement currently appear bleak. The diplomat spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the situation.

At a regional summit in the Philippines, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the US remains open to negotiations with Iran, "but right now they don’t seem to be serious about that” so instead the focus is on protecting shipping.

Associated Press