The United States military has conducted 11 consecutive nights of strikes against Iranian infrastructure, aiming to degrade Tehran’s ability to threaten shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. As hostilities escalate, President Donald Trump has identified a nuclear facility near Natanz as a potential future target, while Iranian officials threaten retaliation against regional US bases.
Military Operations in the Strait of Hormuz
US Central Command (Centcom) reports that the ongoing wave of strikes is designed to continue degrading Iran’s ability to threaten commercial shipping
within the vital Strait of Hormuz. The targets of these operations include Iranian military operations centres, drone storage facilities, maritime capabilities, and military logistics infrastructure. The US alleges that Iran has attacked more than 30 commercial vessels
over the past three months, actions that Centcom states have endangered hundreds of innocent mariners and undermined freedom of navigation.
The conflict has resulted in significant material and human costs. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth recently informed the Senate Appropriations Committee that the war has cost the US approximately $37.5bn (£28bn), marking an increase of nearly $8bn since May. Amid these developments, the Department of Defense confirmed the deaths of two US soldiers, 19-year-old Pte Isabella Gonzales and 25-year-old Lt Tyler James Feehan, who were killed during an Iranian strike on the Muwaffaq Salti base in Jordan.
Threats Against Pickaxe Mountain and Iranian Reprisals
Tensions have reached a new peak following President Trump’s public warning regarding a facility known as Pickaxe Mountain, an underground site suspected of housing an undeclared nuclear enrichment program. During a meeting with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, Trump stated, We’ll be hitting that area pretty soon, and very heavily,
adding that while he does not typically reveal targets, there’s not a thing they can do about it.
For more on this story, see US Completes Sixth Night of Airstrikes Against Iranian Military Infrastructure.
Iran’s military leadership has responded by framing any strike on such facilities as an expansion of the regional war. The Khatam Al-Anbiya military command warned that it would target all the interests of America, the allies and supporters
in response to further US aggression. This stance is mirrored by statements from Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, who indicated that any military action against Iran would warrant retaliation against US bases throughout the region, specifically naming facilities in Bahrain, Qatar, and Afghanistan. For this reason, we will enter a confrontation with both parties and will definitely be at war with American bases should a war break out,
Hajizadeh said, adding, There will be no neutral country in the region.
This follows our earlier report, US Strikes Hit Iranian Infrastructure as Civilian Damage Reports Surface.
Disruption of Global Shipping and Regional Security
The instability in the Strait of Hormuz has forced commercial shipping to navigate secondary routes, with the Red Sea becoming a critical alternative. However, the Houthi rebel group in Yemen has threatened to block the Bab al-Mandab Strait, the gateway to the Red Sea. Following this threat, the British maritime risk management group Vanguard observed two tankers carrying Saudi crude making U-turns away from the region, opting to head toward the Suez Canal instead.
While the US maintains that the Strait of Hormuz remains open for commercial vessel transit,
the volatility has caused significant fluctuations in global fuel prices. Diplomatic efforts, such as the Memorandum of Understanding signed in June between the US and Iran, have collapsed. That agreement, intended to halt military operations and reopen the waterway, was declared over
by President Trump three weeks after its inception, citing continued Iranian maritime attacks.
Read also: US Pentagon Identifies Two Soldiers Killed in Iranian Attack on Jordan Base.
Unresolved Diplomatic Stance
As the military campaign continues, the diplomatic path remains narrow. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, speaking from the United Nations in New York, dismissed concerns regarding Israeli and American military threats, stating that Iran possesses all necessary defensive means. Despite the ongoing hostilities, Ahmadinejad indicated that Iran remains open to dialogue, provided it is based on fairness and mutual respect.
Conversely, the US maintains its focus on military degradation of Iranian capabilities, with Secretary Hegseth warning that further military training may be curtailed unless lawmakers approve an urgent funding boost.
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