US Hits Iran Again After Five-Day Pause in Strikes
The United States launched another round of strikes on Iran late Wednesday, reopening a campaign that had paused for five nights and raising the risk
The United States launched another round of strikes on Iran late Wednesday, reopening a campaign that had paused for five nights and raising the risk of a wider clash across the Gulf. The attacks came a day after Iranian missile strikes on US forces, according to the US military.
Iranian media said at least three civilians were killed. Among the dead were a couple and their two-year-old child, after a residential building on Qeshm Island was hit. The island sits off Iran’s southern coast and is the largest in the Gulf. Tough night. No letup.
CENTCOM says it struck dozens of targets
US Central Command said it had “successfully completed a heavy wave of strikes against Iran” by 10pm ET on Wednesday, which was 02:00 GMT on Thursday. In a statement posted on X, CENTCOM said the operation targeted dozens of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps sites.
Those targets included military command centres, missile and drone facilities, coastal surveillance and defence sites, and maritime capabilities, according to the statement. The US said the strikes were carried out in response to Iranian attacks on US forces stationed at a US base in Jordan a day earlier.
The latest round followed a five-night break in US strikes. That pause ended hours after President Donald Trump said Iran would be hit “very hard”.
Attacks spread across southern Iran
Iranian reports said the bombardment reached several parts of the country’s south. Qeshm Island was among the sites hit, and strikes were also reported in the southwestern cities of Ahvaz and Abadan.
The focus on southern Iran matters beyond the immediate damage. The region borders key waterways and military infrastructure, and any escalation there can ripple well beyond the battlefield. Shipping, regional bases, and allied forces all sit uneasily within range.
For now, both sides have moved the conflict up another notch. The US has linked the strikes directly to the earlier attack on its personnel in Jordan, while Iranian media has concentrated on civilian casualties from the latest bombing. The gap between those two accounts is widening fast.
What comes next will depend on whether Tehran answers with another round of missile fire or whether Washington treats these strikes as the new baseline. CENTCOM’s own language suggests the campaign is still active, and Iran’s reporting shows the costs are already being felt on the ground.
