Overview
- The U.S. military said it completed a fresh round of strikes on Thursday that hit roughly 90 Iranian military targets to degrade Tehran’s ability to threaten commercial ships.
- Officials and reporting say the strikes broadened beyond military sites to hit transport nodes and ports, including airports, rail bridges and a maritime control tower.
- Iran’s health ministry reported at least 14 dead and 78 wounded from two days of U.S. strikes, and Iranian state media quoted the IRGC saying it struck U.S. bases in Bahrain and Kuwait in retaliation.
- Washington is pairing the strikes with diplomacy and economic pressure by starting a 45-day congressional review to remove Syria from the state‑sponsor list and by securing an Iraqi agreement to curb dollar flows to Iran and allied militias.
- U.S. officials told Axios they are preparing for a confrontation focused on the Strait of Hormuz that could last days to weeks, a shift that raises risks to regional shipping, oil markets and wider escalation.