US strikes Iran in second day of renewed fire

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The United States launched a 2nd circular of airstrikes connected Iran into Thursday greeting aft President Donald Trump warned that Tehran would “pay the price” for stalled negotiations.

The caller battle crossed aggregate cities comes arsenic efforts to negociate an extremity the warfare again appeared stuck, with Iran insisting it would support its chokehold connected the Strait of Hormuz, which has disrupted planetary vigor supplies and sent lipid prices higher.

Iran threatened to retaliate for the strikes, and rocket sirens sounded Thursday greeting successful Bahrain, location to the office of the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet portion the Kuwaiti subject reported that its aerial defenses were firing. After the archetypal circular of American strikes connected Wednesday, Iran launched missiles astatine Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan.

The U.S. Central Command said it had “completed” its latest circular of airstrikes conscionable earlier sunrise successful Iran. The subject bid said the strikes came “in effect to Iran’s unwarranted and continued aggression” and targeted “Iranian subject surveillance capabilities, connection systems and aerial defence sites.” It did not elaborate connected the harm done by the strikes, which it said were carried retired by the U.S. Air Force, Marines and Navy.

Explosions from the strikes echoed astir Iran’s capital, Tehran, arsenic good arsenic successful the larboard metropolis of Bandar Abbas and different confederate areas on the strait.

It was the 3rd clip this week that back-and-forth strikes person tested a two-month ceasefire. The strikes took spot aft a time of Iranian occurrence successful Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan, each of which big U.S. troops.

Trump has urged Iran to motion a woody to extremity the warfare and suggested earlier this week that an statement could beryllium reached successful days.

Iran’s United Nations envoy said the U.S. should refrain from threats of unit if it wants a deal.

“Iran has ne'er negotiated nether threats and unit and volition ne'er taxable to unit oregon question,” Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani told the U.N. Security Council connected Wednesday.

Still, some countries look to beryllium looking for a mode to extremity the struggle — if they tin negociate to merchantability it arsenic a triumph astatine home.

Iran has proved resilient contempt weeks of dense bombing. It is betting that its quality to efficaciously adjacent the Strait of Hormuz — a important passageway for lipid and earthy state — gives it a beardown bargaining chip.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appears intent connected pursuing goals that marque compromise harder: the illness of Iran’s theocratic government, the elimination of its atomic program, and the demolition of the Iranian-allied Hezbollah militant radical successful Lebanon. On Monday, Iran and Israel targeted each other.

Trump says US is sneaking lipid past the Strait of Hormuz

Since the U.S. and Israel started the warfare with Feb. 28 attacks connected Iran, the struggle has shaken the planetary economy, driven up vigor prices worldwide, and made nutrient and different basics much expensive.

The planetary benchmark for crude lipid traded supra $93 a tube connected Wednesday, up much than 25% since the commencement of the war.

Trump said the U.S. subject has since past period undertaken a “secret mission” to sneak lipid shipments past Iran’s forces successful the Strait of Hormuz. He said ships were slipping done astatine night, aided by the demolition of Iranian radar equipment.

Trump said arsenic a effect much than 100 cardinal barrels of lipid person evaded Iran’s chokehold connected the strait. There was nary contiguous confirmation of that figure, which astir equals 5 days of lipid shipments done the waterway earlier the warfare began.

The military’s relation was not instantly clear. Capt. Tim Hawkins, a Central Command spokesman, said U.S. forces “communicate and coordinate” with commercialized ships successful the area, but gave nary details connected subject enactment being offered.

The U.S. Central Command connected Wednesday refuted Iran’s claims that the Strait of Hormuz is closed, saying commercialized ships are continuing to transit successful and out.

US and Iranian strikes shingle the Mideast

Earlier Wednesday, the U.S. subject said an American craft fired “precision munitions” into the motor country of the Palau-flagged vas M/T Settebello arsenic it attempted to breach the naval blockade with a shipment of Iranian oil. It was the eighth merchant vas disabled by U.S. forces successful waters disconnected Iran.

India’s overseas ministry said 3 Indian sailors were missing aft the Settebello was struck, portion 21 others were rescued. Its connection did not notation the U.S. subject oregon the blockade.

Hawkins of the U.S. Central Command said American forces warned the unit earlier firing connected the ship.

The U.S. subject said strikes earlier Wednesday targeted “air defense, crushed power stations, and surveillance radar sites."

Iran said U.S. strikes deed 2 h2o reservoirs successful the confederate metropolis of Sirik, temporarily cutting disconnected h2o to thousands of people. U.S. Central Command had nary contiguous comment. Tehran aboriginal claimed attacks successful Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi condemned the American attacks arsenic a usurpation of Iranian sovereignty.

Still, efforts to mediate a woody continued. Following consultations with the U.S., a delegation from Qatar arrived successful Tehran for talks earlier Wednesday, according to an authoritative with cognition of the sojourn who requested anonymity owed to the sensitivity of the talks.

The exchanges of occurrence came a time aft a U.S. Army onslaught chopper crashed adjacent the Strait of Hormuz. The chopper collided with an Iranian drone, according to a U.S. authoritative speaking connected information of anonymity to sermon an ongoing investigation. It wasn’t wide whether the collision was intentional.

A drone vessel rescued the helicopter’s 2 crew. Trump said they were uninjured.

Big disagreements basal successful the mode of a speedy bid deal

Wary of precocious state prices successful the run-up to legislature elections successful November, Trump seems to beryllium looking for a speedy win. But helium is besides making demands that volition beryllium pugnacious for Iran to swallow.

The U.S. wants to spot Iran springiness up its stockpile of highly enriched uranium. While Iran insists its atomic programme is peaceful, that uranium is simply a abbreviated method measurement from weapons-grade levels.

Iran is refusing to springiness up the uranium and demanding alleviation from sanctions. It besides wants the merchandise of frozen assets adjacent earlier a last statement is successful place, thing Trump rejected.

Iran has insisted that immoderate woody to extremity the warfare indispensable besides extremity warring betwixt its state Hezbollah and Israel. Israel has alternatively intensified its subject run against the Lebanon-based militant group.

___

Price reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Konstantin Toropin and Will Weissert successful Washington; Edith M. Lederer astatine the United Nations; Natalie Melzer successful Nahariya, Israel; David Rising successful Bangkok; Bassem Mroue successful Beirut; Michelle L. Price successful New York; Russ Bynum successful Savannah, Georgia; and Hannah Schoenbaum successful Salt Lake City contributed to this report.

Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This worldly whitethorn not beryllium published, broadcast, rewritten oregon redistributed without permission.