US strikes on Iran restart hostilities as Hormuz tensions deepen

The US struck targets in Iran and Tehran answered with missiles and drones. The renewed fighting has deepened fears over Hormuz shipping, regional security and nuclear oversight.

In Short

• Tehran said it answered Tuesday's strikes with missiles, drones and warnings
• A reported US strike on a wedding house killed five, injured dozens
• Washington renewed a regional travel alert citing risks of sudden escalation

The US military struck targets in Iran on Tuesday, ending a month without military action and triggering a fresh round of hostilities. Iranian semi-official media said Tehran responded by launching missiles and drones, while local officials said one US strike hit a house hosting a wedding, killing five people and injuring dozens.

The latest flare-up came alongside a series of wider developments across the Middle East. The US renewed a region-wide travel alert, Iran said it was working with Oman on a plan to manage shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, the UN nuclear watchdog said it still could not inspect Iranian sites affected by the June war, Israel said it detained a senior Hamas security official in Gaza, Yemen announced the killing of an Islamic State spokesperson, and two ships were reported attacked in and around the Strait of Hormuz.

US Central Command said the new strikes followed what it described as Iranian attempts to attack commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and US service members in the region. US President Donald Trump warned in a social media post that if Iran retaliates, “they will be hit again at a much harder and higher level, but it will not be the biggest attack of them all, that is waiting in the wings.”

On Sunday, the US military said it struck rocket launchers on Larak Island in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran then launched missiles at US sites in Jordan, though they were intercepted, while the United Arab Emirates said it had stopped an Iranian drone over its waters.

After the US and Israel attacked Iran on February 28, Tehran imposed a chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz, a route through which a fifth of the world’s traded oil passed in peacetime. Ship traffic slowed sharply, affecting the global economy and pushing up energy and other prices. While Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has long favoured a negotiated end to the war, the Revolutionary Guard remains the country’s most powerful force and is seeking greater concessions from the US, including Iranian control over the strait and financial compensation for the war.

The US State Department also renewed a travel alert for the Middle East. “Due to tensions in the Middle East, the security environment remains complex with the potential for unforeseen escalation,” it said in an advisory covering all countries in the region. The department said Americans in the region should remain highly vigilant and be aware of possible travel disruption.

Iran has also been working with Oman, on the southern side of the Strait of Hormuz, on a framework for managing shipping traffic, though it remains unclear whether the plan would be acceptable to the US. Other Gulf countries have said the strait should reopen without conditions. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met Oman’s Sultan Haitham bin Tariq on Tuesday, and the Saudi Press Agency said they discussed “ongoing efforts to maintain regional security and stability”.

The International Atomic Energy Agency said it had still not been able to inspect Iranian nuclear facilities affected by the 12-day war in June 2025, according to a confidential report circulated to member states and seen by The Associated Press. The agency said it therefore “cannot provide any information on the current size, composition or whereabouts of the stockpile of enriched uranium in Iran.”

In Gaza, Israel said it detained the head of Hamas’ internal security in a special forces raid in Gaza City on Tuesday. Hospital officials said at least four people, including two children, were killed in the operation. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the detainee, whom he did not name, is “one of the most senior Hamas leaders” and had most recently been “engaged in efforts to restore Hamas’s governance in Gaza.”

In Yemen, state security said Islamic State spokesperson Abu Huzayfah al-Ansari was killed in Seiyun city in Hadramout province in a joint operation by Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces and Yemeni counterterrorism forces. A US official, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to comment publicly, said the US military was not involved in the operation.

The British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre said it had received reports of two attacks involving ships in and around the Strait of Hormuz. One tanker was hit by three projectiles on Monday while leaving the Persian Gulf through the strait east of Oman. In a second incident the same day, the centre received a report “involving a tanker and military forces” off Oman’s coast, east of the strait. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for either attack.

In sum, Tuesday saw the US and Iran return to direct hostilities after a month-long pause, with the fighting feeding into broader instability across the Middle East, from shipping disruptions and travel warnings to developments in Gaza, Yemen and Iran’s nuclear programme.

With PTI Inputs

- Ends