Mourners take part in the funeral procession of Iran’s late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, (Photo: Ahmad AL-RUBAYE/AFP)
The US and Iran attacked each other for the second consecutive day on Thursday amid renewed tensions over the strategic Strait of Hormuz.
Iran insists on control of the strait despite the fact that it was open to free passage before the US-Israeli attacks in February.
Pres. Donald Trump said on Wednesday that the ceasefire with Iran was “over”, but kept the door open for further talks and added that any attacks would come to an end quickly.
US forces said the latest strikes against Iran were aimed at “its ability to threaten freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz”, referring to recent attacks on merchant ships in the strait.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said it attacked US military bases in Bahrain and Kuwait on Thursday in response to new US attacks.
American attacks hit a railway bridge in Iran’s northeast, and there were also attacks on a military base in Bushehr, which houses the country’s only civilian nuclear power plant.
The US military’s Central Command Center (Centcom) later said it had hit about 90 military targets.
“This is retaliation for Iran’s bombing of ships,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social. “If it happens again, it will get much worse!”
Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Wednesday that Iran “called a while ago” and that they “want to reach a deal so badly.”
Trump did not provide further details about the call and described the Iranians as “kind of crazy”.
Iran’s chief negotiator said on Thursday that the Strait of Hormuz would only be opened on “Iranian terms”.
“The US still hasn’t learned that bullying behavior and breaking its promises no longer come without consequences,” said Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf on X. “Let me make it clear: If you strike, you will get hit.”
Iran is vying for control of the strait and has said it will charge fees for passage and has also threatened to hit ships that deviate from its authorized route.
The latest attacks come just before the funeral of Ali Khamenei, Iran’s former supreme leader, on Thursday. He was killed by American and Israeli attacks at the start of the war.
Antonio Guterres, the UN chief. meanwhile “requested all parties to exercise maximum restraint”.