Ammon News - The US carried out strikes on Iran for the second night in a row on Wednesday, further threatening hopes of a permanent peace deal.

US Central Command (Centcom) said it had hit air defence systems, coastal surveillance assets, missile and drone storage sites, naval capabilities and military logistics infrastructure.

Centcom said: "At the direction of the Commander in Chief, US Central Command forces have started conducting additional strikes against Iran to further degrade their ability to threaten freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.

"The United States is holding Iran accountable for recent unjustified aggression against commercial shipping and civilian crews freely navigating a vital international waterway."

After promising a "devastating response", the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed to have struck two bases in Kuwait and two more in Bahrain, warning that it would hit additional military installations in the region if the US launched further attacks. It is not clear if the Iranian barrages hit their targets.

Iran had earlier threatened to paralyse global oil flow and expand the war to the Red Sea if Washington launched fresh strikes.

On Wednesday evening, Donald Trump posted footage on social media showing explosions and enormous fires sending smoke billowing into the air, seemingly taken from the ground in Iran.

"This is in retribution for [Tuesday's] bombing of ships by Iran," the US president said, vowing: "If it happens again, it will get much worse."


He later told reporters on Air Force One: "We just hit them very hard, and I say we hit them 20 to one. Every time they hit us, we're going to hit them 20."

Iranian state media reported a maritime traffic control tower and warehouse had been damaged at the port of Chabahar, and that a firefighter was killed at Iranshahr international airport. The reports have not been independently verified by The Telegraph.

It is thought to be the first time Iranshahr, located around 70 miles inland, had been hit since the start of the conflict. Most US strikes have concentrated on coastal military facilities. The bombing was more extensive than the US's attack on Tuesday, in which it hit more than 80 targets, Axios reported.

Trump, echoing previous remarks, claimed on Wednesday that Iran wanted to strike a peace deal "so badly" but he did not know if they would honour it.

Earlier, the president declared the ceasefire "over" and warned of the impending strikes which he said may target water and energy facilities, and Kharg Island.



The Telegraph