{"id":129451,"date":"2026-07-16T12:07:11","date_gmt":"2026-07-16T07:07:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/?p=129451"},"modified":"2026-07-16T12:07:12","modified_gmt":"2026-07-16T07:07:12","slug":"us-strikes-irans-coastal-defences-in-fresh-salvo-tehran-again-targets-american-assets-in-gulf-states","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/129451\/","title":{"rendered":"US strikes Iran’s coastal defences in fresh salvo; Tehran again targets American assets in Gulf states"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Web desk(National Times)- The US, early on Thursday, launched a second wave of attacks on Iran\u2019s coastal defences and missile sites within a span of 24 hours after reimposing a naval blockade of Iranian ports, and Tehran responded by again targeting US military sites in neighboring Gulf countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The latest escalation comes days after a fragile truce collapsed<\/a>, raising the specter of a return to full-scale war, with Iran once again threatening<\/a> to shut off more regional energy exports after blocking the vital Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hostilities have intensified since Iran said late on Saturday it had closed the Strait of Hormuz. Military operations are also keeping ships from transiting the vital artery, which carried about a fifth of global oil and gas shipments before the US-Israeli war on Iran.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brent crude oil, the international benchmark, closed at a one-month high<\/a> of $84.95 a barrel on Wednesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

US Central Command said the military had attacked coastal defence systems and cruise missile storage and launch sites on Iran\u2019s Greater Tunb Island starting around 6am EDT, then launched a second wave of strikes against multiple cities nine hours later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cUS forces struck Iranian command centres, air defence sites, missile and drone capabilities, and coastal surveillance facilities,\u201d it said in a statement, adding it also hit targets in Bandar Abbas, home to Iran\u2019s largest port and key navy and Iran\u2019s Revolutionary Guards facilities on the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEarlier this morning, American forces struck coastal defence and cruise missile sites on Greater Tunb Island during a 90-minute wave,\u201d the US military added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The US military also said it disabled an unladen oil tanker attempting to sail toward Iran\u2019s Kharg Island after it ignored multiple warnings, firing Hellfire missiles into the ship\u2019s smokestack. Since resuming a naval blockade against Iran on Tuesday, the US has redirected two ships and disabled another, the military said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Iranian news media reported a series of explosions, mainly in coastal areas such as Bandar Abbas. Other explosions or projectile strikes were reported around the city of Ahvaz, just inland from the northern end of the Gulf, and Konarak, Sirik and Qeshm in southern Iran.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Press TV<\/em> reported at least two explosions in the central Iranian city of Khondab, about 250 km southwest of Tehran. Mehr<\/em> news agency reported Iran activated its air defences in Tehran to counter \u201chostile threats.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Iranian state broadcaster IRIB<\/em> reported that the US attacks struck near a hospital in Ahvaz that houses a pediatric cancer centre, forcing the temporary evacuation of the hospital. Families have come out to the streets around the hospital to care for their children, IRIB<\/em> said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For its part, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it had struck US military targets in the region, including in Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Guards said it targeted the \u201ccommunication systems and fuel storage facilities of the US military\u201d in Jordan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Separately, the IRGC said it struck \u201cradar systems, a Patriot air defence system, and fuel storage facilities at Ali Al Salem Air Base\u201d in Kuwait and US military facilities at the Sheikh Isa Air Base in Bahrain, IRIB<\/em> reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The war has killed thousands of people and displaced millions, mainly in Iran and Lebanon, where the conflict restarted between Israel and Hezbollah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After the first wave, Tehran\u2019s top negotiator Mohammad Baqer Ghalibaf issued a statement declaring that Iranian security depended on maintaining what he called \u201cIranian arrangements\u201d in the strait.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are in an essential and existential war with America,\u201d Qalibaf said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/a>Trump claims Iran wants to settle<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

US President Donald Trump struck a triumphant note, as he has repeatedly since the US and Israel started hostilities on February 28, saying, \u201cWe\u2019ll have Iran defeated soon. They\u2019ll be defeated very soon.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking at a roundtable event at the Pennsylvania Defence and Innovation Summit, Trump also claimed the Iranians want to \u201csettle so badly\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey don\u2019t like what we\u2019re doing, and they do want to settle. We\u2019ll find out whether or not we settle with them, or we just finish it off,\u201d Trump said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Tuesday, Trump said US negotiators had been in touch with their Iranian counterparts to tell them \u201cyou better make a deal.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Iran\u2019s military spokesperson said that the only way to reopen the Strait of Hormuz was for the US to comply with the 14-point memorandum of understanding that the two sides signed in June, and the implementation of \u201cIranian regulations\u201d regarding ship traffic in the strait.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even amid the hostilities, there was a possible sign of goodwill. Trump said Iran had allowed an American who was \u201cwrongfully detained\u201d during the Biden administration\u2019s tenure in 2024 to leave the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe United States of America appreciates this gesture of Goodwill by Iran,\u201d Trump wrote on Truth Social.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Human rights attorney Jared Genser identified the released American as Dena Karari, who had been prevented from leaving Iran since December 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDena is now safe and traveling back to the United States,\u201d Genser wrote on X, thanking Trump for his efforts to free her.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Web desk(National Times)- The US, early on Thursday, launched a second wave of attacks on Iran\u2019s coastal defences and missile sites within a span of 24 hours after reimposing a naval blockade of Iranian ports, and Tehran responded by again targeting US military sites in neighboring Gulf countries. The latest escalation comes days after a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":129452,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-129451","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest_news","entry"],"yoast_head":"\nUS strikes Iran's coastal defences in fresh salvo; Tehran again targets American assets in Gulf states - Nation<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/129451\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"US strikes Iran's coastal defences in fresh salvo; Tehran again targets American assets in Gulf states - Nation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Web desk(National Times)- The US, early on Thursday, launched a second wave of attacks on Iran\u2019s coastal defences and missile sites within a span of 24 hours after reimposing a naval blockade of Iranian ports, and Tehran responded by again targeting US military sites in neighboring Gulf countries. 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