Iran War

The US launched a wave of strikes against Iran for the sixth night in a row, its military said, as the two sides battled over control of the Strait of Hormuz.

US Central Command (Centcom) said the attacks were intended to “further degrade Iranian military capabilities”, before saying it had boarded a vessel as part of its blockade of Iranian ports.

State media and provincial authorities reported that the US had hit civilian infrastructure, including bridges, a train station and an airport. BBC Verify has confirmed an attack on one bridge to the west of Bandar Abbas in Hormozgan province.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) says it has retaliated by striking US maritime surveillance radar sites in Oman as well as targets in Kuwait and Bahrain. They also claim to have attacked a US special operations command centre in Syria.

The IRGC said the surprise attack at al-Tanf in Syria, near the border with Jordan, was in retaliation for the killing of Iranian soldiers two days ago. Neither Syria nor the US have commented on the claim.

US President Donald Trump said Wednesday that arch foe Iran has freed an American citizen detained since December 2024 and allowed her to leave the country.

“She is now safely outside of Iran, and in good condition,” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform, adding: “The United States of America appreciates this gesture of goodwill by Iran!”

Trump – who in recent days has ordered a resumption of strikes against Iran and reimposed a naval blockade of its ports – did not name the woman or describe why she had been held, other than to say she had been “wrongfully detained.”

But a lawyer responded to Trump‘s post late Wednesday to say the released woman was his client.

“I am beyond excited to report that my client Dena Karari, a US-Iranian citizen, who has been trapped in Iran on bogus charges of collaboration with a hostile state and espionage, is now safely out of Iran and on her way back to the United States,” attorney Jared Genser said in a statement.

Iran said any US attack on the Islamic Republic’s infrastructure would trigger broader regional destruction, pledging to have its forces target infrastructure across the region that Tehran says has remained untouched due to its restraint.

US military has resumed its air strikes against Iran in broad daylight on Wednesday, as Washington said it was intensifying its campaign aimed at limiting Tehran’s ability to threaten commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.

According to US Central Command (CENTCOM), a new 90-minute wave of precision strikes against Iranian targets on Wednesday morning targeted coastal defence systems as well as cruise missile storage and launch sites on Greater Tunb Island.

CENTCOM said the strikes were intended to further reduce Iran’s ability to attack commercial vessels passing through the strategic waterway.

The operation marks a further escalation in the US military campaign against Iran, following Tehran’s repeated attacks on ships in the Persian Gulf.

Iran had struck at least seven commercial vessels over the past week, according to CENTCOM.

India supplies around 12 per cent of the global seafaring workforce, but Indian crew members have borne a far greater share of the recent dangers at sea.

Take the example of seafarers killed during the shipping crisis in the Strait of Hormuz. According to an analysis by NDTV Datafy, the majority of seafarers killed in attacks on commercial ships appear to be Indians.

Indians accounted for seven of the 16 seafarers – nearly 44 per cent – killed in attacks on commercial vessels during the Strait of Hormuz crisis between March 1 and July 14, 2026.