US launches 12th night of strikes on Iranian targets

U.S. Central Command launched a new round of strikes against Iranian military targets on Wednesday evening, marking a 12th consecutive night of American airstrikes as the widening conflict between Washington and Tehran shows no signs of abating.

CENTCOM announced in a post on X that strikes commenced at 5:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday and "will continue to further degrade Iran's ability to threaten civilian mariners and commercial vessels transiting regional waters." Iranian state media reported explosions in the southwestern cities of Ramshir and Ahvaz, as well as in Bushehr province along the Gulf coast, where Iran's only civilian nuclear power plant is located.Gulf News: Latest UAE news, Dubai news, Business, travel news, Dubai Gold rate, prayer time, cinema

Escalating Campaign

The strikes are part of an intensifying American military campaign that began on July 7 after Iran attacked three commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz. Since then, CENTCOM has struck hundreds of targets across Iran, including missile and drone launch sites, air defense systems, command centers, naval assets, and coastal surveillance facilities.U.S. Central Command+2

The previous night's operations — the 11th round — drew explosions across multiple Iranian cities, with residents in Tehran reporting blasts as air defenses activated over the capital, according to Iran's semi-official Fars news agency. Explosions were also heard in the southeastern cities of Chabahar and Konarak, as well as in Bushehr, according to Iran's official IRNA news agency.The Korea Times

Diplomacy in Question

Speaking on the sidelines of the ASEAN summit in Manila on Wednesday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the United States remains open to negotiations but questioned Iran's commitment. "If they're serious, we're serious. If they're not, then we will do what's necessary to protect our interests, and also the interests of our allies," Rubio told reporters, according to Reuters Thomson Reuters Corporation ↗ 2.92%.The Korea Times

Rubio rejected Iran's interpretation of the Islamabad memorandum of understanding, which established a ceasefire earlier this year. "The MOU does not give them the right to launch drones and missiles against commercial shipping vessels," Rubio said. "They chose to violate that."Instagram

A senior Iranian official told Reuters on Monday that Tehran had received a proposal from mediators for a 10-day ceasefire in efforts to salvage the agreement. Iran's Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni visited mediator Pakistan to request continued diplomatic efforts. But with no breakthrough in sight, President Donald Trump confirmed that 18 U.S. service members have been killed since the conflict began, including four in recent Iranian attacks on American bases in Jordan and Iraq.The Korea Times