US strikes Iran again as Tehran warns of 'existential war' with America

CAIRO/DUBAI - The U.S. struck Iran's coastal defenses and missile sites on Wednesday after reimposing a naval blockade of its ports, while Iran threatened to shut off more regional energy exports, saying it was engaged in an "existential war" with America.

The latest escalation of attacks and counterattacks launched by the U.S. and Iran has kept the region on edge days after a fragile truce collapsed, raising the specter of a return to full-scale war, though analysts generally see that as less likely.

Hostilities have intensified since Iran said late on Saturday it had closed the Strait of Hormuz. The ongoing military operations are also keeping ships from transiting the vital artery, which carried about a fifth of global oil and gas shipments before the war. Brent crude oil, the international benchmark, closed at a one-month high at $84.95 a barrel on Wednesday.

U.S. Central Command said the military had attacked coastal defense systems and cruise missile storage and launch sites on Iran's Greater Tunb Island, and had completed the wave of strikes within around 90 minutes.

"At 6 a.m. ET (1100 GMT) today, U.S. Central Command forces began launching a wave of strikes against Iran," the U.S. military said.

"The strikes are designed to further degrade military capabilities Iranian forces have used to attack commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz."

In a statement issued hours after Iran's Mehr news agency reported that U.S. projectiles had hit a location on Iran's Hengam Island in the strait, Tehran's top negotiator Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf said Iranian security depended on maintaining what he called "Iranian arrangements" in the strait.

"We are in an essential and existential war with America," Qalibaf said in a statement.

Prior to the war, Iran had not asserted the authority to act as a gatekeeper over the strait.

The war has killed thousands of people and displaced millions, mainly in Iran and Lebanon, where conflict restarted between Israel and Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah.

Trump threatens power plants, bridges

U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday renewed a threat he has made on several occasions to hit Iranian power plants and bridges next week unless Tehran resumes negotiations.

"I'll save the energy targets for last, but ultimately we'll hit energy targets," Trump said.

On Wednesday, Trump was asked by reporters if Iran had a deadline before the U.S. starts attacking its bridges, and replied: "I don't like giving deadlines, but they pretty much know, they know the story ... they better behave."

Trump said on Tuesday that U.S. negotiators had been in touch with their Iranian counterparts to tell them "you better make a deal."

Three U.S. officials told Reuters that U.S. strikes aimed at forcing open the strait are also targeting Iranian military capabilities the U.S. would want to destroy before executing more complex operations.

Iran threatens other shipping routes

Iran has been trying to assert permanent control over shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and to impose fees on vessels passing through it, in what would be a major shift in the balance of power in a region where the U.S. has long acted as guarantor of security.

Shipping traffic through the strait has dropped to a fraction of its pre-war activity.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said on Wednesday it had struck U.S. military targets in the region, including in Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan.

It also threatened on Wednesday to shut off more regional energy exports, saying the U.S. "must brace for the closure of all other export corridors that benefit the U.S. and its allies."

Analysts say Iran is signalling it may use its Houthi allies in Yemen to shut Bab el-Mandeb, which would open a new front against Washington and put two of the world's most vital energy arteries at risk.

Bab el-Mandeb links the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden, through which Saudi oil exports and a substantial share of global shipping pass. Some shippers have been returning to Red Sea routes after being deterred by Houthi attacks linked to the Gaza war that began in 2023.

Ceasefire deal falters

An interim ceasefire deal signed last month was meant to lead to further negotiations including on Iran's nuclear program, and to a permanent truce, but a return to talks has faltered.

"We have no plans for negotiations at the moment and are focused on defense," Tasnim news agency quoted Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei as saying.

Qalibaf, who is also speaker of Iran's parliament, said that if Iran did not benefit from its memorandum of understanding with the U.S., "we have no reason to adhere to such an understanding."

Iran never welcomed war but it must always be ready to fight and "stand to the end" to protect national security and Iranian interests, Qalibaf said. He added Iran must also use "the tools of diplomacy and negotiation," and choosing either negotiation or war as the sole course of action would be a strategic error.

The U.S. says Iran attacked seven commercial ships over the last week, leaving nearly a dozen crew members killed, missing or injured.

Iranian government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani said at least 30 civilians had been killed in recent days due to the U.S. strikes on southern Iran, state media reported on Wednesday.

The war, which began with U.S. and Israeli strikes against Iran on February 28, triggered Iranian attacks on Gulf states that host U.S. bases and caused major disruption to global energy supplies, raising fears of a surge in inflation. — Reuters