US military resumes strikes on Iran to break grip on Strait of Hormuz

The US military has resumed strikes against Iran in an effort to break Tehran's resolve to control the Strait of Hormuz.

US Central Command announced Wednesday that it had launched a new military operation targeting Iran. The strikes were carried out at 6 a.m. Eastern time — 2 p.m. in Iran.

CENTCOM said the strikes were intended "to further degrade Iranian military capabilities used to attack commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz."

The US military has been bombing Iranian military facilities along the Hormuz coast in southern Iran after Iran attacked merchant ships transiting the strait. In response, Iran has launched retaliatory airstrikes on US military bases across the Middle East — including those in Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar — each time the US has struck.

The repeated armed clashes stem from a fundamental disagreement over who controls the Strait of Hormuz. Iran claims authority over the waterway and has been threatening vessels that transit without its permission or outside routes it has designated.

US President Donald Trump has maintained that Iran's claim to control the Strait of Hormuz is unacceptable. After Iran refused his demand to guarantee free passage through the strait, Trump reimposed a naval blockade to cut off Iranian trade entirely.

Trump warned that if Iran does not agree to US terms by this weekend, he will expand strikes to targets including power plants and bridges.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps pushed back against the warning, threatening to blockade both the United States and its energy shipments throughout the Middle East. Analysts say this signals Tehran's intent to mobilize pro-Iranian proxy forces to threaten not only the Strait of Hormuz but other trade routes as well, including the Red Sea.