US strikes targets across Iran as oil prices surge

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said that “the campaign against Iran is far from over.”

“If Iran attacks Israel, it will suffer a heavy blow like the one we delivered a few days ago. The IDF is prepared to strike Iran with great force,” he said at an awards ceremony, according to The Times of Israel.

According to IRNA, explosions were heard in Iran’s southern Fars Province, near the Strait of Hormuz, as well as in the central city of Isfahan. Local media reported that air defenses had been activated.

Axios reporter Barak Ravid cited a senior US official as saying that “attacks on Iran have begun.”

More explosions were reported across southern Iran, with impacts also reported near the port of Bandar Abbas.

The US Central Command (CENTCOM) said the US had begun carrying out “additional self-defense strikes” against multiple targets.

“The strikes are in response to Iran’s unwarranted and continued aggression,” CENTCOM said.

Axios, citing US officials, reported that Washington hopes to use the strikes to pressure Iran into signing a peace deal on Trump’s terms.

The outlet said the US was targeting Iran’s air defenses, radar systems, and drone command-and-control units.

Iranian aircraft were spotted patrolling the skies over Tehran.

US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth dismissed a reporter’s question about whether strikes on bridges and other civilian infrastructure could constitute a war crime.

“That’s precisely the kind of disingenuous question that I’m used to from the media, impugning the motives of the folks on our side who are incredibly professional and incredibly effective,” Hegseth said.

“We will hit them hard on our terms,” he added.

Iran earlier accused the US of destroying two water reservoirs in the southern province of Hormozgan, cutting off drinking water supplies to more than 20,000 residents.

The Iranian Central Command announced the closure of the Strait of Hormuz to all commercial shipping and warned that any vessel attempting to transit the waterway would be fired upon.

The strait, which normally handles around a quarter of the world’s seaborne oil and LNG trade, has remained largely closed since the US and Israel launched their bombing campaign against Iran in late February.

Oil prices surged above $93 per barrel after Trump announced plans for additional strikes on Wednesday night.

US President Donald Trump threatened to “bomb the s**t out of them tomorrow night” if Iran does not sign an agreement presented by his negotiating team, according to Fox News chief foreign correspondent Trey Yingst.

Yingst said Trump told him he had spoken directly with Iranian officials who asked him to “stop the bombing campaign.”

“The president said to me, ‘The bombing will stop shortly,’” Yingst said.

Press TV, however, reported that a senior Iranian official told the outlet that “Trump’s false claim that Iranian officials contacted him is a cover to evade war with Iran.”

The Iranian Central Command said the country’s armed forces “will deliver a crushing and decisive response to any aggression” by the US in the region.