The United States on Thursday attacked Iran for a second straight day, with President Donald Trump vowing further strikes if Tehran does not immediately agree to a peace deal.
The escalation in hostilities began earlier this week with the downing of a US Apache helicopter near the Strait of Hormuz, which sparked a series of tit-for-tat attacks across Iran and on US bases around the region.
It was the most serious threat to a fragile ceasefire agreed in April, dampening hopes for a swift end to the war that started in late February with massive US-Israeli joint air strikes on Iran.
The US military said its latest attacks targeted "military surveillance capabilities, communication systems, and air defense sites across Iran" in response to what it called Tehran's "unwarranted and continued aggression."
Trump told Fox News reporter Trey Yingst on Wednesday evening the US strikes would stop shortly but that he would resume heavy bombing if Iran's leaders did not sign an agreement with the United States immediately, Yingst wrote on X.
The military's Central Command announced the strikes were complete about four hours after they began, soon after midnight in Tehran.
Iran's top joint military command also warned it would fire on any vessel trying to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, which has been largely closed for months. Iranian media said two US ships were fired on.
US Central Command denied that the strait was closed or any of its ships struck, saying commercial ships were still transiting the strait despite Iran's threats.
Iranian news agencies reported explosions in several cities across the country of 93 million, including Sirik, Kargan, Bandar Abbas, Minab, and Karaj near the strait, as well as Varamin far to the north, closer to the Caspian Sea.
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth presented the move as an effort to force Iran into a deal to end the conflict.
The strikes would "advance our military interests and also enhance our diplomatic position," he told reporters during a visit to Central Command in Florida.
"We will strike them hard tonight, and hopefully Iran makes a good decision," he said. "If we need to negotiate with bombs, we'll negotiate with bombs."
