The U.S. bombed Iran on Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning, and Iran retaliated against U.S. bases, as the Iran War entered its 138th day on Wednesday.
U.S. Central Command announced Wednesday morning that it had completed airstrikes against what it claimed were “coastal defense systems and cruise missile storage and launch sites,” following a 7-hour bombing run they said targeted “Iranian missile and drone sites, naval capabilities, and coastal defense systems.” Iranian media reported that U.S. strikes hit a wheat storage facility, while President Donald Trump on Tuesday told Fox News that all of Iran’s power plants and bridges would be targeted next week unless Tehran returns to the negotiating table.
Iran’s IRGC responded to American attacks with strikes they claimed hit a U.S. military logistics and support center in Kuwait’s Mina Abdullah port, the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet in Bahrain, and Al Al-Azraq base in Jordan, among other targets.
The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday that two of the three latest vessels struck by Iran were part of a U.S.-escorted “shuttle run” fleet that had been keeping about 3.5 million barrels a day flowing out of the strait. Kpler shipping tracker reported that no vessels were recorded transiting through the U.S.-coordinated Omani channel on Tuesday, with 21 total recorded transits through the Iranian channel, up slightly from previous days.
Iran currently retains control over the northern part of the waterway and points to article five of the memorandum of understanding signed by Trump and Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian, which says that “the Islamic Republic of Iran will make arrangements” for the Strait of Hormuz and that the “future administration” of the waterway would be determined by Iran and Oman. The Islamic Republic has denounced what they describe as American pressure to open up a channel near the Omani coastline that cuts Iran out of the waterway’s management.
The price of oil continued to rise, with Brent Crude above $84.50 per barrel on Wednesday morning.
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