US Fires 49 Tomahawk Missiles at Iran in Latest Strikes
The United States launched new strikes on multiple targets inside Iran, prompting Iran to close the Strait of Hormuz and launch retaliatory attacks on US bases in Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan. These Iran strikes followed accusations by President Donald Trump that Iran was stringing the US along in negotiations.
US Launches Strikes on Iran
US Central Command stated the strikes targeted Iranian military surveillance capabilities, communication systems and air defense assets, with some strikes in southern Iran aimed at loosening Tehran’s grip on the Strait of Hormuz. [1] President Donald Trump ordered the attacks after accusing Iran of stringing the US along in negotiations, stating Iran would have to pay the price for delaying a deal. [4] Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth described the operation as an attempt to set terms for diplomacy and expand the negotiating position, saying the US would negotiate with bombs if necessary. [1] Trump detailed that the US fired 49 Tomahawk missiles at targets as close as 40 miles from Tehran, with fighter jets striking radar and air defense systems near the Gulf, and warned of possible further strikes. [4]
Iran's Retaliatory Attacks and Closure of Strait of Hormuz
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed retaliatory strikes on US bases in Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan, while ordering the complete closure of the Strait of Hormuz to all vessels. [4] Iran’s top military command announced the complete closure of the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most critical oil transit routes, and warned all vessels to stay away from the strategic waterway. [4] Kuwait’s civil aviation authority temporarily closed the country’s airspace as a precaution amid the escalating conflict, citing Iranian aggressions, and Kuwait Airways announced a shutdown of all of its flights. [4]
Context of Stalled Negotiations
The fresh wave of strikes took place after a team of Qatari negotiators traveled to Iran on Wednesday morning to meet with Iranian counterparts in an effort to bridge final gaps in a memorandum of understanding between Washington and Tehran. [1] Trump is increasingly and publicly frustrated that Tehran won’t cave to his terms for reopening the strait and ending its nuclear program. [1] The new US military action reinforced a sense that Trump believes only confrontation can compel an adversary to close a deal. [1] At least twice before, Trump has performed an end run around ongoing diplomacy: before his long-range bombing runs against Iran’s nuclear sites last year, and again when he lost patience with a laborious process in Geneva at the end of February. [1]
Damage and Immediate Effects in Iran
Authorities in Iran’s Hormozgan province said water supplies had been restored to affected communities in Sirik county less than 12 hours after US strikes damaged infrastructure. [4] Iranian media reported that two concrete water storage reservoirs were hit in the attacks. [4] A New York Times analysis suggested the tanks may have been struck with precision-guided munitions, raising concerns as international humanitarian law considers civilian water infrastructure a protected site. [4] Reporting from Tehran, Al Jazeera’s Mohamed Vall said many Iranians had been expecting another US attack despite renewed talk of negotiations. [4]
Regional and International Reactions
The US State Department urged people in Jordan to seek overhead cover and shelter in place immediately, warning that reports indicated missiles, drones or rockets had entered Jordanian airspace amid the escalating regional conflict. [4] The Israeli military said sirens that sounded across parts of northern Israel were triggered after two projectiles launched from Lebanon fell near Israeli troops operating in southern Lebanon, with the army reporting no casualties or damage to military equipment. [4] Retired US General Mark Kimmitt told Al Jazeera that Washington’s latest strikes appear to stem more from frustration with stalled diplomacy than from any new Iranian battlefield provocation. [4]
Risks of Further Escalation
Rep. Jim Himes, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, told CNN’s Erin Burnett on Wednesday that Iran retains the capacity to destroy energy infrastructure in the United Arab Emirates or Qatar in retaliatory attacks, and that it could also order allied Houthi rebels in Yemen to cut Red Sea oil exporting routes. [1] Himes said Iran has a lot of cards to play, and all of those cards point in one direction, which is gasoline prices going very, very high for the American people. [1] No lasting agreement can be achieved through threats, intimidation or the use of force, Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations Amir Saeid Iravani said Wednesday, according to Iran’s official Islamic Republic News Agency. [1] Evidence of the last three months suggests that Washington only instills greater stubbornness among Iran’s leaders when it intensifies military pressure. [1]
What to watch next: Trump warned that if Iran did not accept a deal proposed by US negotiators, the US would bomb the country again tomorrow night. [4]
