US, Iran trade fresh strikes as Trump warns of tougher attacks

The US and Iran traded fresh strikes in a renewed escalation of hostilities, with US forces targeting Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) positions in Iran and Tehran launching missile and drone attacks against American bases and assets in the region.

The US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced that US forces began strikes against IRGC targets at 12 p.m. Eastern Time (1600 GMT) on Tuesday. It said the action followed recent attempted attacks by the IRGC against commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and US service members deployed in the region.

US President Donald Trump warned Iran against retaliating, saying Tehran would face further and more severe attacks if it responded to the latest US strikes.

Trump described the strikes near the Strait of Hormuz as “large and powerful” and warned that an even bigger attack was being held in reserve.

In a phone interview with Fox News, Trump said US forces had destroyed a large number of radar systems in Iran, including systems that Tehran had attempted to rebuild.

“This is a very big hit today. If it goes a third time, they're going to be totally wiped out as a country,” Trump said.

He also said Gulf allies had been notified ahead of the latest strikes and referred to the USS George Washington, saying it was heavily equipped.

Explosions were reported in the Iranian port cities of Bandar Abbas and Sirik and on Qeshm Island. Multiple explosions were also reported in several other areas of southern Iran.

The IRGC subsequently announced that it had begun what it described as a retaliatory response against US bases and assets in the region.

In a statement published by its official news outlet Sepah News, the IRGC said its response had begun and claimed that Iranian air defence systems had shot down a US MQ-9 Reaper drone.

The IRGC's aerospace forces also launched ballistic missile and drone strikes targeting Camp Titin in Jordan and Shaikh Isa Air Base in Bahrain. The Iranian force claimed that a large number of US troops were killed and several facilities and combat helicopters were destroyed.

Jordan's Armed Forces-Arab Army said its air defence systems intercepted and destroyed 10 of 13 ballistic missiles that entered Jordanian airspace from Iran. The remaining three missiles fell in remote areas away from population centres, with no casualties or deaths reported.

The IRGC said the US strikes would prolong the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and make Iranian forces more determined to suppress foreign forces interfering in the waterway.

Iranian authorities also said the US strikes had killed at least five people and wounded more than 50 others in Sirik county in Hormozgan province. According to Iranian media, those killed included a four-year-old child and a woman.

The casualties were reported following a US attack on a wedding ceremony in Hormozgan province, which the IRGC described as a deadly attack.

Iran's Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters said in a statement that Iranian armed forces would respond to the US “air aggression” with what it described as crushing blows against the United States.

Meanwhile, two crude oil tankers were struck by unknown projectiles while transiting the Strait of Hormuz on Monday evening, according to Greece-based maritime risk organisation Marisks.

The latest exchanges mark a sharp escalation between Washington and Tehran, with both sides issuing warnings of further military action.

(With inputs from IANS)