The U.S. launched fresh strikes against Iran Wednesday evening in retaliation for an attempted Iranian attack on American forces in the Middle East, the Pentagon announced, the first U.S. strikes following a brief lull in the fighting.
U.S. Central Command, in a social media post, characterized the strikes as a “powerful response” to the Iranian missiles launched Tuesday but did not immediately provide additional details when reached by POLITICO. At the time, the Pentagon said the missile launches were an “attempted surprise attack” but that the projectiles were successfully intercepted.
The strikes mark the first ones CENTCOM has publicly acknowledged the U.S. launched on Iran in five days, a respite which was preceded by 13 days of consecutive air attacks on the country. Those strikes have been largely focused on impacting Iran’s ability to control the Strait of Hormuz, the vital waterway for the world energy supply chain that has become a sticking point in peace talks.
President Donald Trump previewed a possible retaliatory strike much of Wednesday, telling reporters gathered at the White House in the afternoon that “we’re gonna be hitting them very hard.”
“They know it’s coming. They’re asking us not to do it,” the president added. “But, you know, they tried shooting last night.”
The renewed fighting this month follows the collapse of a temporary peace agreement between the two countries due to Iran attacking shipping vessels moving through the strait, which led to U.S. strikes in retaliation.
The president made a series of escalating threats towards Iran during the days of continuous strikes, saying last week the U.S. will strike “one bridge or power plant” for every ship attacked in the Middle Eastern waterway. The Geneva Conventions prohibit strikes on civilian infrastructure acknowledged to be “indispensable to the survival of the civilian population.”
And the war, which shows few signs of ending soon, has become a source of anxiety for Republicans amid heightened gas prices and the deaths of American soldiers, despite the president’s insistence that Iran is desperate to negotiate another ceasefire. Iran’s refusal to back down has been perceived by some to represent the limits of the U.S.’s aerial assault.
Meanwhile, European allies are dismissing the Trump administration’s efforts to get them to join a naval patrol of the strait, signaling that they want to see a ceasefire in the region first.