Explosions were heard across Iran on Wednesday night as the US launched attacks on the country. This happened just hours after President Donald Trump said the ceasefire was over.
Trump also warned he would “hit Iran very hard” that same night.
Al Jazeera reported explosions in places like Sirik, Bushehr, Konarak, and Chabahar. Iran's air defence systems were activated in many areas.
In response, Iran attacked US interests in Bahrain and Kuwait.
Trump had earlier said the US might “de-nuclearise” Iran without any agreement.
“It’s easier,” Trump stated. He also stressed that the main goal of the US in this conflict is to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons.
The US military’s Central Command (CENTCOM) announced that these new attacks were meant to “further degrade their ability to threaten freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.”
PREMIUM TIMES reported that the US and Iran exchanged strikes on Tuesday night. Following this, Trump threatened to reimpose a naval blockade on Iran in the Strait of Hormuz and possibly take control of Kharg Island.
“Anybody else can have whatever they want, of course,” he said.
“They’ll [Iran] drop some mines if they can… but it’s hard because we’re taking out those little boats now with the same weapon we use to take out the drug lords.”
The latest attacks began when Iran fired at civilian ships trying to pass through the Omani part of the Strait of Hormuz. Iran claims this action breaks the ceasefire with the US, which it believes allows it to control ship movement in the Strait during the ceasefire. The US, on the other hand, argues that Iran's actions violated the ceasefire, leading to the US's counterattacks.
Iran sees control of the Strait of Hormuz as a key defense against future US attacks. It believes losing this control could weaken its position in negotiations. Meanwhile, the US and many other countries want free passage in the Strait without Iranian control.
Trump also ended the temporary suspension of US sanctions on Iranian oil sales after the attacks on civilian ships.
He blamed Iran for the rise in attacks and said Iranian leaders were scared the US would strike during Ali Khamenei’s funeral. They had asked for a “timeout.”
“They asked for a timeout; they wanted to go to the funeral of Khamenei, and I said give it to them, and they started shooting missiles,” he said.
“I mean, it was a crazy thing. Now we did kill him, so I guess you have to look at it that way.”
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