The United States launched fresh attacks against Iran on Thursday, prompting Tehran to retaliate by targeting US bases across the Gulf, as US leaders accused their counterparts of dragging out negotiations for a deal to end the three-month war.
US Central Command (CENTCOM) said American forces began "additional self-defense strikes" at 5:15 pm on Wednesday in Washington (early Thursday in Iran) in response to what it called Tehran's "unwarranted and continued aggression".
The second consecutive day of attacks came after US President Donald Trump, who had repeatedly said negotiations with Tehran were close to an end, said Tehran had taken "too long to make a deal" to end the war.
Iranian media reported explosions across in cities in the south near the Strait of Hormuz, with explosions heard in Bandar Abbas, Qeshm and Minab, and sources reporting hits by "enemy projectiles" in Kargan and Sirik.
CENTCOM said later that it had "completed" its strikes on "Iranian military surveillance capabilities, communication systems, and air defense sites".
American forces "fired precision munitions on Iranian targets that posed a threat to US forces and international commercial ships transiting regional waters", the command said.
In response, Iran said it had attacked US military bases in Bahrain and Kuwait, the same targets of retaliatory Iranian strikes conducted the day before.
The confrontation has triggered months of military exchanges, retaliatory attacks and diplomatic tensions across the Middle East.
Despite ongoing diplomatic efforts, relations between Washington and Tehran remain strained as both sides continue to exchange accusations and military actions.