Trump Orders Strikes on Iran as Regional Conflict Escalates

President Donald Trump authorized a 10th consecutive night of U.S. airstrikes targeting Iranian military command centers, air defenses, and missile sites in southern and western Iran, including Shiraz and Chabahar. The president also approved attacks on civilian infrastructure, such as power plants and bridges, which threaten Iran's water supply by disrupting the grid powering desalination plants. Trump stated the operations avenge the deaths of 17 American service members, including those killed in Jordan and Iraq.

In response, President Masoud Pezeshkian declared a full-scale war. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps launched retaliatory strikes against U.S. military bases in Jordan and Kuwait, as well as U.S. personnel facilities and an Amazon data center at Sheikh Isa Air Base in Bahrain. Iranian forces also targeted oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz and struck Kuwaiti power and desalination plants. Meanwhile, Iran-aligned Houthi forces threatened a naval blockade of Saudi Arabian ports.

Despite the escalating violence, which follows Trump's decision to abandon a June memorandum of understanding, diplomatic efforts continue. Iranian Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni traveled to Islamabad to seek Pakistani mediation for a proposed 10-day ceasefire to salvage an interim peace deal. Since the conflict began on February 28, an estimated 1,700 Iranian civilians have been killed.