U.S. Strikes Iran Again; Trump Vows Harsher Response to Retaliation

The U.S. military struck Iranian military targets on Tuesday, including air defense sites, radar systems and maritime assets, U.S. Central Command said, reigniting an intermittent conflict that has run more than six months.

One U.S. strike hit a home in Kuhestak, in southern Iran's Hormozgan Province, where a wedding was underway, killing five people, including a child, and wounding at least 68 others, according to Ahmad Nafisi, the province's deputy governor, who spoke to Iranian state television. U.S. Central Command spokesperson Capt. Tim Hawkins said the military was aware of the reports but noted they originated from Iranian state media, adding that "the U.S. military never targets civilians, unlike the IRGC."

Iran responded by launching ballistic missiles toward Jordan, with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claiming it targeted a U.S. base along Jordan's Gulf of Aqaba coast. Jordan's military said it intercepted 10 of the missiles, with three landing in unpopulated areas. Iran also said it launched a drone attack on U.S. forces in Bahrain, though Bahrain said all attacks were intercepted, and Kuwait's army said it intercepted drones as well.

Iran's Armed Forces General Staff warned it would deliver "crushing and devastating blows" against the United States. Iranian state television reported strikes on a fishmeal factory, a fishing pier, a port authority tower and part of the electricity grid in Hormozgan Province, along with a strike near — but not on — the civilian Jiroft Airport in Kerman Province, which it said caused no casualties.

Late Tuesday, President Trump wrote on social media that he would not force Iran into negotiations, saying he preferred the current position of "almost total control" of the Strait of Hormuz while Iran's economy collapses. Earlier, he warned that if Iran retaliated for the strikes, it would be "hit again at a much harder and higher level." He told Fox News the strikes targeted radar systems Iran had been rebuilding.

The renewed fighting has driven oil prices up more than 7% this week, pushing U.S. gasoline prices to $4.10 a gallon, according to AAA, compared with $3.19 a year ago. About 20% of the world's oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has effectively closed since the war began.