TEHRAN, June 11 (Xinhua) -- The United States attacked Iran for a second straight day right after Tehran crossed into Thursday, following U.S. President Donald Trump's vow earlier to strike the country "hard" again.
In response to "the continued provocations" of the U.S. side, Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, Iran's main military command, announced the full closure of the Strait of Hormuz. The move was later denied by the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), which claimed that commercial vessels can still transit the vital waterway.
More than 100 days after the United States and Israel launched joint strikes on Iran, the conflict is escalating once again, raising fears of a prolonged regional war. Where does the conflict stand today? Can either side step back from the brink?
WHAT HAPPENED?
The latest U.S. attacks began at 5:15 p.m. ET (2115 GMT) Wednesday, CENTCOM said, launching "additional" strikes on military surveillance capabilities, communication systems and air defense sites across Iran.
They came hours after Trump told reporters that the U.S. forces will hit Tehran "hard again today," accusing Iran of dragging out negotiations and warning that "now they will have to pay the price."
Blasts were heard in the southern Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas, as well as the Qeshm and Hengam islands, while air defense systems were activated west of Tehran and in the southern province of Fars, the semi-official Mehr news agency reported.
In response, Iran's Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) said it had struck 18 U.S. military targets in the region, including airbases in Kuwait and Bahrain.
Iranian forces were also reported to have targeted U.S. ships near the Strait of Hormuz with missiles and drones as Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters announced the full closure of the strait. But such claims were later denied by CENTCOM.
Roughly 24 hours before the latest exchange of fire, CENTCOM said it completed a previous wave of strikes, calling them retaliation for Tehran's alleged downing of a U.S. Apache helicopter in the Strait of Hormuz.
Although Trump said Tehran "admitted they did it," Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi told Al Jazeera that Tehran "was not behind the attack."
WHO FEELS THE RIPPLES?
After Trump announced his plan to strike Iran "very hard" again, oil prices surged to their highest levels of the day, with U.S. crude rising 3.5 percent to more than 91 U.S. dollars a barrel and international benchmark Brent crude climbing nearly 3 percent to some 94 dollars.
Stocks, meanwhile, extended their losses. The S&P 500 fell 1 percent, and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.4 percent, both reaching their lowest levels of the session.
NBC News reported on Wednesday that U.S. inflation surged in May to the highest level since early 2023, as Iran war-related fuel costs worked their way through the broader economy.
"Inflation remains the major economic pain point regardless of who has to absorb it," it quoted Peter Boockvar, chief investment officer at One Point BFG Wealth, as saying.
However, Trump "shrugged off" the spike in inflation, it noted. Asked about the data in the Oval Office later Wednesday, Trump replied: "I love it. The numbers were great."
"You know what I really love? I love the inflation," Trump said. "When the war is over, it's coming down."
ANY DEAL IN SIGHT?
Trump has repeatedly claimed in recent days that a peace deal with Iran could be signed very soon. However, analysts pointed out that the latest exchanges of fire risk a return to an all-out war.
Over the weeks, the Trump administration has been reportedly pursuing a 60-day memorandum of understanding with Tehran to frame negotiations, but the exchange of messages between the two sides had been halted for days as of June 2, Fars News Agency said, citing an informed source.
Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency said Tehran had suspended message exchanges with Washington through mediators in protest over the Israeli military escalation in Lebanon.
Noting that Iran's acceptance of a ceasefire with the United States and Israel on April 8 was conditional on a truce on all fronts, the IRGC said in a statement that the two countries continued their "aggressions and crimes" in Lebanon, "attacking Iranian shores and vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, the Sea of Oman and the Indian Ocean."
Lebanese Defense Minister Michel Menassa said Monday that despite the U.S.-brokered ceasefire taking effect on April 17, Israel carried out 3,491 air raids in Lebanon between April 17 and June 7.
Michael Singh, a former Middle East adviser at former U.S. President George W. Bush's National Security Council, said the flare-ups threatened peace talks while reinforcing how neither side wanted to re-engage in major hostilities. The problem is that a breakthrough has proved elusive during the tension-filled period, he said.
"Both compromise and escalation are unacceptably costly, so the default is putting off a decision and hoping conditions are better tomorrow," said Singh, who is now a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. "On one hand, that's rational, but over time, this is how wars become endless." ■
