US Central Command said on July 16 that US forces launched a new wave of strikes against Iran for the sixth consecutive night at 2 p.m. ET, with the campaign unfolding as pressure around the Bab El Mandeb Strait and the Strait of Hormuz stayed at the center of the White House's account. Karoline Leavitt said Iran continued to talk to the United States of America even as the strikes continued.
Leavitt said Iran wanted to make a deal with the United States of America because it was suffering “devastating blows.” She also said the recent strikes were driven by Iran's violation of a memorandum of understanding, including the refusal not to fire on commercial vessels moving through the Strait of Hormuz.
Bushehr and Kuwait
IRNA said explosions were heard in Bushehr, southern Iran, on Thursday, July 16. Bushehr is known for its nuclear plant, and the new wave of strikes was said to be aimed at further degrading Iranian military capabilities.
Kuwait's Defense Ministry said its army intercepted 32 Iranian drones since the morning. Some of the Iranian attacks caused damage in several critical institutions, and debris from the intercepted drones also landed in civilian neighborhoods and caused damage there.
Robert Pape on Iran
Robert Pape, the political science professor at the University of Chicago and founding director of the Chicago Project on Security and Threats, said in an interview with DW: “I think in probably about 12 months or a year — it's possible even less — Iran is going to cross the nuclear threshold. And that's because it needs that for its longer-term security — and it's right on the cusp of it”. His assessment sits against the June memorandum of understanding in which Iran agreed not to seek nuclear weapons.
That agreement now runs alongside a military campaign that has stretched across six nights, while the White House says dialogue is continuing. The next shift will depend on whether Tehran and Washington keep talking under pressure, or whether the strikes widen beyond the targets already hit.
