U.S. Strikes Iran for Second Day, Air Defenses in Kuwait, Bahrain, and Jordan Engage Iranian Missiles and Drones
The command identified the targets as military surveillance capabilities, communication systems, and air defense sites across Iran.
MIDDLE EAST — U.S. forces struck targets inside Iran for a second consecutive day on Wednesday while air defenses in Kuwait, Bahrain, and Jordan engaged Iranian missiles and drones in attacks that ran from Tuesday evening into Wednesday morning.
U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) began launching the latest round of strikes, which it says were carried out in self defense, at 5:15 p.m. ET on Wednesday against Iranian military surveillance capabilities, communication systems, and air defense sites, and attributed the strikes to Iran’s “unwarranted and continued aggression.”
Late Tuesday night, CENTCOM disabled the Palau-flagged tanker M/T Settebello in the Gulf of Oman, the eighth vessel disabled since the naval blockade of Iranian ports began on April 13.
Kuwait’s Defense Ministry reported its air defenses engaged “hostile aerial targets” at dawn, Bahrain’s defense force stated it intercepted and destroyed a number of Iranian missile and drone attacks, and Jordan’s armed forces cited they downed five missiles launched from Iran toward the Azraq area on Tuesday evening.
U.S. President Donald Trump and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth tied the military pressure to a stalled nuclear agreement, and both cited oil transit volumes of about 100 million barrels moved through the Strait of Hormuz under U.S. protection.
Strikes on Iranian Surveillance, Communications, and Air Defense Sites
The new round of strikes began at 5:15 p.m. ET, with U.S. Marine Corps, Air Force, and Navy assets firing precision munitions at the Commander in Chief’s direction, according to CENTCOM.
The command identified the target categories as military surveillance capabilities, communication systems, and air defense sites across Iran.
CENTCOM stated, “U.S. Central Command forces began launching additional self-defense strikes today at 5:15 p.m. ET against multiple targets in Iran at the Commander in Chief’s direction.”
A command statement added that the targets “posed a threat to U.S. forces and international commercial ships transiting regional waters.”
The strikes followed Iran’s downing of a U.S. Army AH-64 Apache attack helicopter near Oman on Monday. The crew was safely returned, according to Department of War reporting. Trump told reporters U.S. forces struck back the following day.
Trump said, “We hit them hard yesterday and we’re gonna hit them again hard today. We’ll see what happens with the deal. We were really close to a deal. But they keep tapping us along. They keep playing us for suckers.”
At MacDill Air Force Base in Florida, after meeting CENTCOM leadership on operations planned for Iran, Hegseth told reporters, “Central Command will be busy tonight because President [Donald J.] Trump said we will be hitting Iran hard, and we will be.”
“Iran has a chance to make a good deal, a great deal, to codify what they said they’ve been willing to do -- and they haven’t been willing to do it.”
