US renews strikes on regime targets after Iranian strike in Jordan, first drone attack on US vessel in Egypt

The U.S. military carried out an intense round of strikes in Iran overnight following a drone strike on an American gas tanker in Egypt and missile attacks on U.S. forces in Jordan. 

A U.S. official told The Jerusalem Post that the scale of the strikes was "about twice the size of the previous." The intensity appeared to demonstrate significant anger on the U.S. side, after President Donald Trump had vowed to hit back hard in response to Iranian surprise attacks that had broken several days of quiet.

The strikes also came after the first Iranian attack in Egypt during this war, threatening to widen the scope of the conflict even further.

The U.S. military's Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed that it conducted a large wave of strikes on targets in southern Iran, including in the areas of Bandar Abbas, Bushehr, Abadan, Ahvaz and Qeshm Island. 

“The strikes are a powerful response to yesterday's attempted Iranian attacks on U.S. forces based in the Middle East,” CENTCOM said in a statement. 

The military command group later said it “struck dozens of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) targets in Iran, including military command centers, missile and drone facilities, coastal surveillance and defense sites, and maritime capabilities.” 

“The strikes aimed to further diminish threats posed by Iran and its proxies to American forces, commercial shipping, and neighboring Gulf countries,” CENTCOM added. 

Following the strikes, Jordanian air defenses shot down five Iranian missiles, which apparently targeted U.S. bases in the country. 

The fresh round of strikes, following six days of relative quiet, came after a drone struck a U.S.-owned gas storage tanker at Egypt's Mediterranean port of Damietta, according to British maritime security firm Ambrey. 

That drone attack came shortly after U.S. and Saudi forces launched a wave of strikes against Iranian proxy militias in Iraq, believed to have been the source of previous drone attacks on a Saudi oil facility. 

The source of the strike was not immediately clear, although two Iranian sources claimed that the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) were responsible, telling the New York Times that the attack was “designed to show that global shipping and energy supplies could be more deeply disrupted if Iran chose to escalate.” 

President Trump had promised strong retaliation for the Iranian missile attacks on U.S. facilities in Jordan that broke the six-day informal truce.

“We’re going to be hitting them very hard. Because it’s our turn to hit them. They know it’s coming. They’re asking us not to do it,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office Wednesday. 

That same day, Fox News’ Trey Yingst said that the president used expletives while speaking about his plans for retaliatory strikes in a phone call. 

“We're going to beat the f***ing sh** out of them,” Yingst quoted Trump as saying. “We'll be hitting them hard.” 

At the same time, the president said that diplomatic efforts were continuing. “We’ll see if we get there with an agreement at some point,” Trump said. 

The U.S. president is growing increasingly exasperated with the lack of any clear off-ramp to the hostilities, according to a report in NBC, citing an anonymous U.S. official. 

The report claimed that President Trump has been short-tempered with aides due to his frustration with the Iran conflict, which has caused economic consequences for the U.S. 

The NBC report also cited a “Trump ally,” who said, “The president is exasperated.” 

“I don’t think he believed it was going to be this difficult to get the Iranians to agree to a deal. There was not a real strategy for how long or what they should do to get to the endpoint,” the Trump ally was quoted as saying. “He did not intend this to be a long, drawn-out war.” 

However, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt denied that Trump was exasperated or had lost his temper with aides over the war. 

“This is false. The president has a great team whom he trusts, and everyone on the team knows he’s the final decision-maker,” Leavitt said. 

Chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell also rebutted the NBC report, telling the outlet in a statement that the military is “locked and loaded, ready to execute the president’s directives at a moment’s notice.” 

“Secretary Hegseth, CENTCOM Commander Admiral Cooper, and Chairman Caine stand completely aligned and are united in mission, strategy, and resolve regarding overseas operations involving Iran,” Parnell added. 

A senior Israeli official told Hebrew media that Israel stands ready to resume strikes on Iran, if President Trump decides to do so, while indicating that the decision to resume the war effort is “up to the American president, unless Iran chooses to attack Israel.” 

The official noted that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Trump discussed three options regarding the Iran situation in their recent meeting: an agreement, continued economic pressure, or a large-scale military attack. 

The official stressed that while all options were discussed, Prime Minister Netanyahu did not attempt to push for any particular option. 

Meanwhile, traffic through the Strait of Hormuz continues below normal levels. 

The IRGC said in a statement Thursday morning that two tankers attempting to exit through the southern, Omani route were turned back “after a major fire broke out on one of them.” 

The IRGC did not directly take responsibility for the fire, but it has repeatedly fired on vessels attempting to transit the strait outside of its own approved route.