US strikes Iran and Tehran fires back as hostilities flare again

The United States and Iran are once again trading military strikes after nearly a month of relative calm, raising fears that the six-month-old conflict could return to full-scale fighting.

U.S. Central Command says the latest attacks were aimed at Iranian forces threatening American troops and commercial shipping around the Strait of Hormuz. President Trump said the U.S. also destroyed newly rebuilt Iranian radar facilities and warned Tehran that further retaliation could bring much larger American attacks.

Iran responded by launching ballistic missiles toward a U.S. base in Jordan and threatening additional “crushing” attacks. Iranian officials also say American strikes hit civilian locations, including a home where a wedding was taking place, killing four people, including a child, and injuring dozens. Iran also reported attacks on an airport, electrical infrastructure and sites along its southern coast.

A major part of the confrontation continues to center on the Strait of Hormuz, where about 20% of the world’s oil normally passes. Iran has effectively closed the waterway, while the United States says its military actions are intended in part to protect shipping. The renewed conflict is already having an economic impact: crude oil has risen more than 50% this year, and the average price of regular gasoline in the U.S. has climbed to about $4.10 a gallon, compared with $3.19 a year ago.

At the same time, Iran says it is still willing to return to the June ceasefire agreement if the United States does the same. That agreement was supposed to create a 60-day negotiating period but quickly collapsed. The danger now is that what both sides have described as limited military actions could once again turn into sustained warfare—with American forces, Iran, neighboring Gulf countries and the global oil supply all increasingly at risk.