Iranian armed forces launched a "decisive operation" with missiles and drones against US bases and interests in the Middle East, according to the Tasnim news agency, affiliated with the Revolutionary Guard. The retaliation comes after US Central Command (Centcom) confirmed new strikes against targets in Iran. President Donald Trump warned that any Iranian response to the "completely justified" attack would be met "with much greater force and intensity."
The military escalation caused multiple explosions in southern Iran, near the Strait of Hormuz, close to Bandar Abbas and the islands of Qeshm and Lavan, a major crude oil export terminal. A US air strike hit a house in Kuhestak, in Hormozgan province, where a wedding ceremony was taking place, killing two people and wounding several others. Two oil tankers were also hit by unidentified projectiles as they left the strait region, a vital point for maritime traffic and global oil prices.
The new wave of hostilities occurs at a time of diplomatic impasse. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian had called for a return to dialogue, demanding that the US comply with the memorandum of understanding signed on June 17, which called for an immediate ceasefire, the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, and the lifting of the US naval blockade. The two-month deadline for negotiating a peace agreement expired without success.
With the failure of negotiations and the launch of the "Economic Pariah" operation to financially isolate Iran, Tehran hardened its position. Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf warned that any intensification of the naval blockade will be met with an unequivocal military response, conditioning the reopening of navigation through Hormuz on the definitive end of the war and the suspension of oil sanctions.
