US and Iran exchange blows in rekindled Middle East war
The United States struck Iran and Tehran attacked US allies in the Gulf on Thursday as the foes battled over the vital Strait of Hormuz in the renewed Middle East war.
The rekindled fighting came a month after the signing of a preliminary deal that aimed to end the conflict, which broke out in late February with massive US-Israeli strikes on Iran.
US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced it was conducting a new wave of strikes on Thursday evening to “further degrade Iranian military capabilities” – the sixth straight night of attacks by American forces.
Iranian state television reported two explosions in the city of Bushehr – home to Iran’s only civilian nuclear plant – in a “continuation of the American enemy aggression”, as well as a series of unattributed blasts in coastal Bandar Abbas.
The official news agency IRNA also said there were “American enemy attacks on areas around Ahvaz”.
Tehran had earlier warned it would target infrastructure across the region if US President Donald Trump followed through on a threat to attack power plants and bridges in Iran – though the White House said he remained “open to diplomacy”.