WASHINGTON: The United States launched a new wave of attacks against Iran on Wednesday (Jun 11) night as efforts to end the three-month-old war sputtered, and Tehran hit back saying it will target any ship going through the Strait of Hormuz.
US Central Command said American forces began “additional self-defence strikes” at 5.15pm Washington time, early on Thursday in Iran, against multiple targets in Iran, in response to what it called Tehran’s “unwarranted and continued aggression”.
Iranian media reported explosions across the country’s south near the Strait of Hormuz, the same area where US forces had already bombarded air defence, radar and other sites on Tuesday. Iranian sources reported new hits by “enemy projectiles” in Qeshm, Kargan and Sirik.
The Iranian navy said it hit two ships trying to sail through the Strait of Hormuz, state television IRIB and the Mehr agency reported. Iranian media also reported that Iran had attacked the US Fifth Fleet in Bahrain, hitting communication antennas and radar facilities.
After the new American air strikes, “any vessel traffic through the Strait of Hormuz will be targeted”, the Khatam al-Anbiya command said, according to Tasnim news agency. The strait is now closed “completely closed to all types of vessel”, the command said.
But US Centcom denied this, saying “commercial ships are continuing to transit in and out of the Strait of Hormuz tonight”.
President Donald Trump said that as the bombing was underway, Iranian leaders called him directly in the White House Situation Room and asked him to halt the attack, Fox News reported.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards quickly denied Iran made such a request, the IRNA news agency said.
Trump said US forces hit Iran with 49 Tomahawk missiles and some targets were as close as 60km from Tehran, Fox said.
If Iran does not accept US terms for ending the three-month-old war, “President Trump said, quote, ‘We’ll bomb the S out of them tomorrow night'”, said Fox News reporter Trey Yingst, who spoke to the president.