U.S. Forces Strike Iranian Coastal Defenses on Greater Tunb Island

U.S. forces struck Iranian coastal defense systems and cruise missile storage and launch sites on Greater Tunb Island beginning at 6 a.m. ET on Wednesday. The operation lasted approximately 90 minutes.

The strikes followed the reimposition of a naval blockade on Iranian ports on Tuesday. Late Tuesday the U.S. military also hit dozens of military targets near the Strait of Hormuz and Iranian coastal areas in a separate seven-hour operation.

The Strait of Hormuz carried about a fifth of global oil and gas shipments before the war. Oil prices extended gains by about 1 percent on Wednesday after settling Tuesday on a new one-month high. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said on Wednesday it had struck U.S.

Military targets in Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan. The corps also threatened to shut off more regional energy exports. Iran said late on Saturday it had closed the Strait of Hormuz. The U.S. says Iran attacked seven commercial ships over the last week, leaving nearly a dozen crew members killed, missing or injured.

The war began with U.S. and Israeli strikes against Iran on Feb. 28. An interim ceasefire deal signed last month was meant to lead to further negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program and a permanent truce.

Iranian government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani said at least 30 civilians had been killed in recent days due to the U.S. strikes on southern Iran. Iran’s army said at least seven active-duty and conscript personnel were killed in overnight U.S.

Strikes on the Bampur military base in the country’s southeast. On Tuesday President Donald Trump threatened to hit Iranian power plants and bridges next week unless Tehran resumes negotiations. He added that he would save the energy targets for last but hit them.