The United States resumed bombing Iran on Thursday, launching strikes at midnight GMT in retaliation for an Iranian missile attack targeting American forces in Jordan that Washington said was intercepted overnight. President Donald Trump warned on Wednesday that the US would strike Iran hard, declaring the response would be severe.
The resumed campaign followed a pause Trump had ordered days earlier at the request of mediating states to allow negotiations another chance. The new strikes targeted Iran's southern provinces of Khuzestan and Hormozgan, with rescue teams on Qeshm island searching for survivors beneath collapsed buildings. Separately, US and Saudi strikes on pro-Iranian militias in Iraq killed 20 members of the Hashd al-Shaabi and wounded 32.
Admiral Brad Cooper drew up plans for 10 to 14 days of intensive air raids aimed at crippling Iran's missile capability, though General Dan Caine raised concerns over dwindling US interceptor stockpiles. The escalation came after 13 consecutive nights of US bombing prior to the ceasefire.