Donald Trump said the US expanded Iran war strikes on Monday, with the US military hitting military command centers, air defence and coastal surveillance sites, maritime capabilities, missile and drone launch sites and communications networks. Iranian media reported strikes around Tabriz and Bushehr, while Iran answered with attacks on Bahrain, Kuwait and tankers in the Strait of Hormuz.
The fighting has slowed Shipping in the Strait of Hormuz to a trickle and pushed oil past $90 a barrel. Bushehr is home to Iran’s only operational civilian nuclear power plant, making the strike report around that city especially sensitive.
US military targets in Iran
The US military said its Monday strikes hit military command centers, air defence and coastal surveillance sites, maritime capabilities, missile and drone launch sites and communications networks. Donald Trump said, “We hit them very hard again tonight,” after returning to Washington from the World Cup final, and added, “we did that in honour of the, probably three, it’s probably three great patriots”.
Iranian media reported strikes around Tabriz and Bushehr on Monday. Bushehr matters because it is home to Iran’s only operational civilian nuclear power plant, which places the city inside the core of the military and political messaging around this round of attacks.
Iran responds in Bahrain and Kuwait
Iran launched attacks against Bahrain on Monday and against Kuwait on Monday, extending the exchange beyond Iran’s own territory. Iran also struck tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, and a ship caught fire near the coastline of Oman as the strikes began early on Monday.
Shipping in the Strait of Hormuz has slowed to a trickle during the fighting, and oil passed $90 a barrel as the attacks spread across the waterway that carries a fifth of global oil and gas supplies. For traders and shippers, the immediate pressure is on routes, schedules and insurance costs rather than on any single battlefield line.
Baghaei keeps diplomacy open
Iran said on Monday that diplomacy with the US was ongoing despite the fighting. Esmail Baghaei said in Tehran that the diplomatic apparatus had been active in recent days, while Marco Rubio said the US was still open to negotiations with Iran and that talks with Iran had to be real.
That leaves both sides striking and talking at the same time, with mediators still carrying messages and no public break in the channel between The US and Iran. The unresolved issue is what terms, if any, can survive the pace of attacks now moving through Iran, Bahrain, Kuwait and the Strait of Hormuz.
