The United States has resumed military strikes against Iran, striking Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps targets in the Strait of Hormuz, the US Central Command reported, as quoted by Newsweek.
US President Donald Trump used the occasion to threaten Tehran on his Truth Social network with the "biggest attack of all" in the event of a possible Iranian retaliatory fire.
The military actions coincided with an escalation of the Trump administration's economic pressure campaign. Treasury Secretary Scott Besant said at the G-20 summit on Tuesday in North Carolina that the administration intends to "economically strangle this regime" and impose additional sanctions to force Tehran back to the negotiating table.
The renewed fighting marks a shift from the strategy President Donald Trump outlined last month, when he emphasized economic pressure on Tehran and promised an "economic D-Day" against Iran. Administration officials say tougher sanctions and targeting key financial lifelines could ultimately force Iran back to the negotiating table.
Shortly after the strikes were announced on Tuesday, the Islamic Republic's state-run news agency (IRNA) reported explosions heard in Bandar Abbas, Sirik, Jask and Qeshm.
Following threats of retaliation from Iranian officials, Iranian media outlets reported attacks on U.S. targets in the region.
President Trump posted on Truth Social: "If the failed state of Iran strikes back for this very justified attack, it will be hit again at a much greater and higher level, but it will not be the greatest attack of all, waiting for its moment."
Trump added: "When it is over, there will be very little left of the Islamic Republic of Iran a little!"
Iran Strikes Back
The full extent of the damage caused by the latest US strikes remained unclear on Tuesday. Iran's state news agency IRNA reported that Brigadier General Alireza Marhamati, deputy governor for security and law enforcement in Sistan and Baluchestan province, said investigations into the scope of the attacks and any resulting damage were ongoing.
Iranian state media also reported civilian casualties and damage to non-military targets. The state broadcaster reported that the US strikes hit a wedding ceremony in Sirik and a fishmeal factory in Qeshm. Separately, Ahmad Nafisi, deputy governor of Hormozgan province, told Iranian state television that a strike on a house where a wedding ceremony was taking place in the village of Quhestak killed five people, including a child, and wounded at least 68 others. The claims have not been independently verified.
As reports of the strikes emerged, Iran vowed revenge. Following the U.S. operation, Iran fired ballistic missiles at Jordan, with the IRGC claiming they were aimed at a U.S. base on the shores of the Gulf of Aqaba in Jordan, according to Iranian state television. The Jordanian military said it had intercepted 10 missiles and that the remaining three had fallen in unpopulated areas. Explosions, believed to have been intercepted by air defenses, were seen over Aqaba.
The Iranian military issued a series of warnings after the attacks. The spokesman for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Brigadier General Hossein Mohebbi, was quoted by the Tasnim news agency as saying that "the aggressors expect severe punishment" and that "America will regret its new attacks." The outlet also quoted an unnamed military official as saying that the Iranian armed forces would respond "resolutely and comprehensively" to any attack on the country's territory or interests.
A joint statement by the General Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces and the Khattam al-Anbiya Central Command similarly warned that the Islamic Republic's forces would strike "crushing blows" against US targets. Iranian media later aired footage purportedly showing missiles being fired at US targets and reported the alleged downing of a US MQ-9 Reaper drone, claims that could not be independently verified.