Iran closes Strait of Hormuz after US strikes and threatens retaliation

The United States launched new airstrikes on targets in Iran overnight, the US military’s regional command (CENTCOM) announced. Iran reported explosions in several areas, Reuters reported. Shortly after the attacks began, the Iranian military said it had completely closed the Strait of Hormuz and hit two ships trying to pass through the strait. The US said shortly afterward that the strait remained open. US President Donald Trump told Fox News that he had spoken with Iranian officials and that the strikes would end soon. Tehran denied that Trump had spoken with Iranian officials.

"The strikes are in retaliation for Iran’s unjustified and ongoing aggression," CENTCOM said, adding that they were defensive strikes ordered by Trump, the commander-in-chief.

Before the new attacks, he said the US intended to launch them if Iran did not sign a peace deal.

Iranian media reported explosions at several locations, including the southern Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas, considered one of Iran’s most important military centers in the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz region. Several targets were also hit in the southern Iranian province of Hormozgan, which lies on the Strait of Hormuz, including the city of Sirik and Qeshm Island.

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the US would target "key facilities" in its "hard-hitting strikes."

After the attacks, Tehran announced that the Strait of Hormuz was completely closed to all ships. "All vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz will become targets," the Iranian military said, according to AFP. Two unidentified vessels that had, according to the Iranians, "violated the ban" were hit. Iran has been blocking the strait for some time, although some ships have still been able to pass through.

"Commercial ships are continuing their journeys to and from the Strait of Hormuz tonight," CENTCOM said in response to Iran’s claim.

It also denied that Iran had attacked US ships, as Iranian media had reported. Specifically, they reported drones targeting the US Fifth Fleet off the coast of Bahrain. The Iranian military command threatened the US with "crushing and decisive retaliation" for the American strikes, Reuters reported.

Trump told Fox News that Iranian officials had asked him to end the strikes, which would happen soon. However, the network said, he left open the possibility of resuming them. He also said Israel had not taken part in the strikes.

"Trump’s false claim that Iranian officials contacted him is meant to cover up his attempt to avoid a war with Iran," Iranian media quoted an unnamed senior Iranian official as saying, according to Reuters.

The United States is striking Iran for the second day in a row. On Wednesday night, it targeted similar locations to those hit now; Trump said the strikes were in retaliation for the Iranians shooting down an Apache helicopter in the Strait of Hormuz. Tehran denies shooting down the US aircraft.

A fragile ceasefire has been in place in the region since April, intended to allow negotiations on a peace deal. So far, however, those negotiations have not succeeded, and the ceasefire has been repeatedly broken.

The war began in late February when Israel and the United States launched attacks on Iran, which responded with strikes on US bases and countries in the region, as well as by closing the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20 percent of the world’s oil supplies normally flow.