U.S. launches additional strikes on Iran after Trump says ceasefire is over

The U.S. military has started carrying out additional strikes against Iran after President Trump said he considered the ceasefire over. Multiple explosions have been reported across southern Iran.

U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said Wednesday that its forces had begun additional strikes to “further degrade” Iran’s ability to threaten freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.

“The United States is holding Iran accountable for recent unjustified aggression against commercial shipping and civilian crews freely navigating a vital international waterway,” CENTCOM said.

Explosions were reported along parts of Iran’s southern coast, including areas near Bushehr, Bandar Abbas, Qeshm Island, Sirik, Jask and Chabahar. Details about the targets, damage or casualties were not immediately available.

The new strikes came after an earlier round of U.S. attacks on Tuesday in response to Iranian attacks on three commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz. CENTCOM said at the time that Iran’s actions were “unwarranted, dangerous, and a clear violation of the ceasefire.”

Speaking earlier Wednesday during a meeting with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte in Ankara, Turkey, Trump said the U.S. had struck Iran “very powerfully” overnight after Tehran targeted ships.

“We said, ‘Go and do your funeral stuff,’ and instead of that, they started shooting rockets at ships yesterday,” Trump said. “And so we hit them very hard last night. Very hard.”

Asked whether the ceasefire and memorandum of understanding with Iran were over, Trump said: “To me, I think it’s over. I don’t want to deal with them anymore.”

The latest escalation follows several rounds of U.S. strikes over the past week after attacks on commercial vessels near the Strait of Hormuz. One of the vessels attacked this week was the Qatari-flagged LNG tanker al-Rakiyat, while Saudi Arabia said one of its crude oil tankers, the Wedyan, was also hit.