US strikes Iran again, Tehran retaliates against Gulf bases and declares Hormuz closed

American strikes resume

The United States military launched a new wave of strikes against Iran on the evening of Wednesday, 10 June 2026, targeting what it described as military surveillance installations, communication systems, and air defence sites across the country. The US Central Command (Centcom) stated the strikes began at 5:15 p.m. Washington time and were conducted in self-defence, calling them a response to Iran's unjustified and persistent aggression.

Explosions were reported by Iranian media on Qeshm Island, in Minab, Sirik, and at the port of Bandar Abbas, all located on Iran's southern coast near the Strait of Hormuz. The previous night's strikes had already hit air defence facilities, ground control posts, and surveillance radar sites in the same region, according to Centcom.

We were really on the verge of reaching a deal, but they keep stringing us along, they're making fun of us.

President Donald Trump, speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, accused Tehran of stalling in negotiations meant to end the Middle East war. He warned he would strike Iran hard, and the new bombardments followed hours later. The strikes come one day before the start of a football World Cup in which the Iranian national team is scheduled to play on American soil.

Iranian retaliation across the Gulf

In response, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced it had launched attacks on three military bases hosting American forces. Eighteen important targets belonging to the US military were struck across two waves of operations at the Ali al-Salem and Ahmad al-Jaber bases in Kuwait, and the Sheikh Isa air base in Bahrain, the Guards said, according to the Irna agency.

Iranian state-linked agencies Fars and Mehr reported that the drone strikes targeted communication antennas and Patriot missile system radars. Bahrain's interior ministry confirmed on X that sirens sounded during the attacks. Iranian state media had earlier claimed an attack on the headquarters of the US 5th Fleet in Bahrain.

Later on Thursday, the Revolutionary Guards announced they had fired ballistic missiles at an American command centre in Jordan, widening the geographic scope of the retaliation.

The Strait of Hormuz closure

Tehran escalated further by declaring the Strait of Hormuz closed. The Iranian general staff, quoted by the Tasnim agency, said the waterway was now completely closed to all types of vessels, including oil tankers and merchant ships, and that any ship transiting the strait would be targeted.

Following the repeated ceasefire violations by the American enemy, the Strait of Hormuz will be closed until further notice.

The Revolutionary Guards naval forces, cited by state television Irib, warned that no ship should leave its anchorage in the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman, and that any approach to the strait would be considered collaboration with the enemy. The Iranian navy separately announced it had struck two vessels that were attempting to cross the strait illegally.

US denial and the broken ceasefire

The US military quickly denied Iran's claim. Centcom posted on X that commercial ships continued to transit the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday evening, contradicting Tehran's assertion that the passage was sealed.

The exchange of fire marks the collapse of a ceasefire that had been in effect since 8 April, after more than five weeks of strikes. Both sides had already attacked each other during the night of Tuesday to Wednesday, before the latest American bombardment and Iran's subsequent retaliation.

Oil markets and global stakes

Roughly one-fifth of the world's oil supply passes through the Strait of Hormuz, making any disruption a potential trigger for global energy market turmoil. The Iranian threat to close the strait and the reported strikes on two vessels attempting to cross it raise immediate questions about the security of maritime traffic in the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman.