The latest escalation comes days after a fragile truce collapsed, raising the specter of a return to full-scale conflict, with Iran once again threatening to shut off more regional energy exports.
Hostilities have intensified since Iran said late on Saturday it had closed the Strait of Hormuz. Military operations are also keeping ships from transiting the vital artery, which carried about a fifth of global oil and gas shipments before the conflict. Brent crude oil, the international benchmark, closed at a one-month high of 84.95 USD a barrel on Wednesday.
US Central Command said the military had attacked coastal defense systems and cruise missile storage and launch sites on Iran's Greater Tunb Island starting around 6:00 a.m. EDT (1000 GMT), then launched a second wave of strikes against multiple cities nine hours later.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said on Wednesday it had struck US military targets in the region, including in Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan. The Guards said they targeted a gathering for US military personnel and a radar system at Ali Al Salem air base in Kuwait with a missile and drone attack.
