US launches second wave of strikes in 24 hours

US President Donald Trump has said the fresh wave of strikes on Iran on Wednesday night is “retribution for yesterday’s bombing of ships by Iran” in the Strait of Hormuz.

Amid a series of short, uncommented videos in the last 30 minutes, presumably showing the latest missile strikes on Iran, Trump wrote in a social media post, “If it happens again, it will get much worse!”

Iran targeted three cargo ships in the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday in attacks which appear to have prompted Trump to declare the fragile ceasefire over and resume strikes on Iran.

Earlier on Wednesday, Trump made a series of seemingly contradictory remarks on the scope of the war.

He said the back-and-forth fighting would not lead to  “long-term” military action and that “nything that happens is going to happen very fast.” However, he also suggested the US military might “just finish the job.”

The fresh wave of American strikes against Iran will ‌be ⁠greater ⁠in number than those carried out on ​Tuesday, a ​US ‌official told the Reuters news agency on Wednesday evening.

On Tuesday night, US Central Command (CENTCOM) claimed its forces had struck more than 80 targets, including Iranian air-defense systems, coastal radar sites and 60 IRGC small boats.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it hit US military facilities in Kuwait and Bahrain in retaliation throughout Wednesday.

The fresh strikes on Iran come after US President Donald Trump said earlier on Wednesday that the US would “probably hit them hard again tonight.”

Iranian state media have reported explosions in the southern port cities of Bandar Abbas and Sirik.

Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) has also reported explosions on Abu Musa island in the Strait of Hormuz.

It also said shrapnel from projectiles struck a hospital in Chabahar, further eastwards along Iran’s southern coast.

Hello and welcome to DW’s coverage of the latest developments in the ongoing conflict between Iran and the United States.

For the second time in 24 hours, US forces have launched strikes on targets inside Iran.

US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced “additional strikes against Iran to further degrade their ability to threaten freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.”

It said Washington is “holding Iran accountable for recent unjustified aggression against commercial shipping.”

The continued strikes come after US President Donald Trump declared on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Ankara that a ceasefire agreed with Tehran was over.

Stay with us as we provide updates throughout the night.