WASHINGTON, USA — The United States military has launched a fresh round of airstrikes against a strategic military site in the southern Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas, threatening to shatter a fragile ceasefire and drag the region back into full-scale conflict.
US Central Command (Centcom) confirmed the operation, stating its forces also intercepted and shot down four Iranian one-way attack drones operating as a direct threat around the volatile Strait of Hormuz. A fifth drone was destroyed on the ground in Bandar Abbas just moments before its scheduled launch.
The renewed hostilities mark the second time in three days that Washington has struck targets inside Iran. The escalation comes amid delicate, protracted negotiations aimed at ending a brutal three-month war that has choked global energy corridors and sent international fuel prices soaring.
A Defiant Stance on “Self-Defence”
American defense officials have robustly defended the raids, characterizing the operations as “measured, purely defensive, and intended to maintain the ceasefire” rather than break it.
The latest bombardment follows a previous round of self-defence strikes on Monday, which targeted active Iranian missile batteries and specialized mine-laying naval vessels. Those assets had been deploying sea mines in the Strait of Hormuz, where thousands of commercial oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) tankers currently sit stranded by the hostilities.
The security crisis rippled across the Gulf on Thursday as the Kuwaiti military confirmed its own air defence systems were actively intercepting unspecified “hostile missile and drone threats” over its airspace.
Tehran has fiercely condemned the Pentagon’s actions:
- Ceasefire Violations: Iran’s foreign ministry blasted the targeted strikes as a “grave violation” of the standing truce.
- Retaliation Vow: The Iranian government warned it “will not leave any act of hostility unanswered”.
- Airspace Claims: The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) separately claimed it had downed an American drone and fired upon a US fighter jet violating its airspace earlier in the week.
Economic Warfare and Maritime Extortion
In tandem with the kinetic strikes, the US Treasury Department has opened a severe financial front against Tehran by slapping sanctions on the “Persian Gulf Strait Authority”. The state-backed Iranian body has been forcing commercial vessels traversing the Strait of Hormuz to pay steep transit fees.
Under the new strictures, any global shipping line found paying the authority risks being completely cut off from the Western financial system.
While Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman, Esmaeil Baqaei, maintained that Tehran is legally collecting fees for “navigational services,” US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent fired back, calling the system the “Iranian military’s latest attempt to extort global maritime trade” and clear proof that Iran is “desperate for cash”. Approximately one-fifth of the world’s global petroleum and LNG supply transits through the narrow shipping lane daily.
Trump Warns Iran is “Negotiating on Fumes”
The military friction forms the backdrop to increasingly gridlocked peace talks. Speaking during a White House cabinet meeting on Wednesday, US President Donald Trump struck a combative tone, asserting that Iran is currently “negotiating on fumes”.
President Trump dismissed domestic political pressures, insisting his wartime strategy would not be influenced by November’s upcoming US midterm elections. “Maybe we have to go back and finish it, maybe we don’t,” Mr Trump told reporters. “They just want to make a deal—I don’t think they have a choice”.
The war broke out on 28 February 2026, when Israel and the US launched a joint military campaign against Iran, alongside Israel’s parallel conflict against Iranian-backed Hezbollah forces in Lebanon. During Wednesday’s meeting, President Trump used the platform to aggressively urge alternative Gulf nations to formally sign the Abraham Accords and normalise diplomatic relations with Israel.
Peace Deal Hopes Recede
Prospects of an imminent diplomatic breakthrough have sharply receded. While President Trump had optimistically claimed over the weekend that a comprehensive peace deal was “largely negotiated,” he reversed course by Wednesday, explicitly stating the US is “not satisfied” with the current terms.
The diplomatic impasse was further aggravated after Iranian state television broadcast the alleged details of a draft agreement. The leaked text reportedly outlined terms for the immediate reopening of the Strait of Hormuz paired with a total withdrawal of US military forces from the Middle East. The White House swiftly and publicly branded the broadcast text a “complete fabrication”.
Washington has reiterated its willingness to resume large-scale bombing campaigns if Tehran refuses to capitulate to US demands. “So far, they haven’t gotten there, and we’re not satisfied with it, but we will be,” President Trump warned. “Either that or we’ll have to just finish the job.”
Add Comment