The China Mail - US renews Iran attacks, Tehran says it closed Strait of Hormuz

US Central Command said American forces began "additional self-defense strikes" at 5:15 pm Washington time, early Thursday in Iran, against multiple targets in Iran, in response to what it called Tehran's "unwarranted and continued aggression."

Iranian media reported explosions across the country's south near the Strait of Hormuz, the same area where US forces had already bombarded air defense, radar and other sites on Tuesday. Iranian sources reported new hits by "enemy projectiles" in Qeshm, Kargan and Sirik.

The Iranian navy said it hit two ships trying to sail through the Strait of Hormuz, state television IRIB and the Mehr agency reported. Iranian media also reported that Iran had attacked the US Fifth Fleet in Bahrain, hitting communication antennas and radar facilities.

After the new American air strikes "any vessel traffic through the Strait of Hormuz will be targeted," the Khatam al-Anbiya command said, according to Tasnim news agency. The strait is now closed "completely closed to all types of vessel," the command said.

But US Centcom denied this, saying "commercial ships are continuing to transit in and out of the Strait of Hormuz tonight."

President Donald Trump said that as the bombing was underway Iranian leaders called him directly in the White House Situation Room and asked him to halt the attack, Fox News reported.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards quickly denied Iran made such a request, the IRNA news agency said.

Trump said US forces hit Iran with 49 Tomahawk missiles and some targets were as close as 40 miles (60 km) from Tehran, Fox said.

If Iran does not accept US terms for ending the three-month-old war, "President Trump said, quote, 'We'll bomb the S out of them tomorrow night,'" said Fox News reporter Trey Yingst, who spoke to the president.

- 'Playing us for suckers' -

The second straight day of US attacks followed Trump's complaint that Tehran's negotiators were taking too long and "playing us for suckers." Earlier this week he had suggested a peace accord was just days away.

"We hit them hard yesterday. We're going to hit them again hard today," Trump told reporters Wednesday morning. "We were really close to a deal, but they keep tapping us along."

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth suggested the strikes could extend into a third night, saying they would be "strong" and "clear."

The escalation drew international calls for restraint on the eve of the World Cup, which the US is co-hosting and Iran is participating in.

UN chief Antonio Guterres cautioned against a return to "full war."

Twenty-two countries including the United States and European nations also warned Iran on Thursday to stop attacking people "on our soil."

"Attempts to kill, kidnap, harass, intimidate, or otherwise attack people on our soil, undermines national sovereignty and international norms. These actions must stop immediately," they said in a joint statement.

Iran's UN Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani, meanwhile, rejected Trump's threat, saying "no sustainable deal can be reached through threats, intimidation, or the use of force."

But diplomacy had not collapsed entirely, with Qatari negotiators traveling to Tehran "to meet with the Iranians in an effort to bridge the remaining gaps," a diplomat with knowledge of the situation said.

The war began with massive US-Israeli strikes on Iran, rattling the region and global markets before an increasingly shaky truce took effect.

The conflict has driven energy prices higher since Tehran retaliated by virtually closing the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly a fifth of global oil normally passes.

Trump said Wednesday that the US military had secretly helped 100 million barrels of oil pass through the contested strait.

Global stocks mostly fell Wednesday as renewed fighting, higher US inflation and weakness in technology shares weighed on sentiment, while oil prices climbed about two percent.

- Gulf on alert -

Iran said it attacked American bases in Jordan and Bahrain on Tuesday after US strikes on the Islamic republic in retaliation for the earlier downing of a helicopter.

The Apache was the second crewed aircraft Washington has confirmed losing to Iranian fire during the war. Its two crew members were rescued, the US military said.

Bahrain said it intercepted and destroyed "a number of Iranian aerial attacks," while Jordan said it shot down five missiles, with no casualties or damage.

Kuwait's military said its air defenses were also engaging "hostile aerial targets."

Tehran's foreign ministry warned neighboring states against letting the US or Israel use their territory for attacks.

The US military also said an American warplane fired on and disabled a tanker in the Gulf of Oman that was attempting to carry Iranian oil in violation of a US blockade.

Iran has insisted that any deal to end the war must include a truce in Lebanon, drawn into the conflict when Iran-backed Hezbollah fired rockets at Israel on March 2.

burs-ft/sms/dw/mjf

I.Ko--ThChM