US hits Iran’s Chabahar port after Trump warns attacks will get much worse
The US launched fresh strikes on Iran’s southeastern port city of Chabahar on Thursday as the two adversaries exchanged attacks for a second straight day after President Donald Trump declared the ceasefire “over.”
Explosions were reported across Chabahar, with Iranian state media reporting widespread power outages in parts of the city. Residents said they heard multiple blasts as emergency services rushed to damaged sites. This marked the first attack on the strategic port since the US-Iran ceasefire was announced in April.
According to US military officials, the operation targeted maritime infrastructure and military facilities that Washington said supported Iran’s ability to threaten commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. In all, CENTCOM, the US military’s Middle East command, said it hit around 90 Iranian targets in the latest round of strikes.
“US Central Command forces have started conducting additional strikes against Iran to further degrade their ability to threaten freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz,” CENTCOM wrote on X.
“The United States is holding Iran accountable for recent unjustified aggression against commercial shipping and civilian crews freely navigating a vital international waterway.”
Initial reports said the strikes hit piers, a maritime traffic control tower and nearby military assets while avoiding civilian port facilities and critical energy infrastructure.
The latest US onslaught followed Tuesday’s attack on three cargo ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz, which Washington blamed on Iran. Trump warned Tehran that the strikes would “get much worse” if it continued targeting commercial vessels in the vital shipping lane.
Iran retaliated with a second consecutive day of attacks targeting Kuwait and Bahrain, which host US military bases. The latest exchange has further heightened tensions in the region and threatened efforts to bring the war to an end.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump said the US had inflicted far greater damage than Iran.
“We just hit them very hard, and I say we hit them 20 to 1,” he said about the strikes, adding that every time “they hit us, we’re going to hit them 20.”
Asked whether Washington was heading back into a full-scale military conflict with Tehran, Trump replied, “I don’t know, but we would win it very quickly.”
The US President also claimed Washington had already “won militarily” in Iran, saying the country had “very little left” and wanted a deal “so badly.”
“I don’t know that they’re going to honour the deal, that’s the problem,” he added.
Meanwhile, Iran’s parliamentary speaker and chief negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, hit back in a post on X, saying America “still hasn’t learned that bullying and breaking promises are no longer cost-free.”
