US launches new strikes on Iran weeks after Hormuz reopening deal

BAGHDAD, Iraq — The United States carried out a new air operation against Iran 22 days after a June 17, 2026 agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, with mutual strikes resuming between Washington and Tehran. US Central Command said the strikes targeted Iranian air defense systems, missiles, drones, coastal surveillance facilities and military logistics infrastructure, framing the operation as a response to Iranian actions against commercial shipping in the strait and an effort to weaken Tehran's capacity to threaten maritime traffic. Iran said US attacks hit southern strategic facilities, including areas around the Bushehr nuclear power plant, bridges and railway lines, and described the strikes as a violation of its sovereignty, pledging retaliation. US President Donald Trump said the United States was not seeking war but would prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons and would respond more forcefully to any further attack. Analysts offered competing assessments of the risk of further escalation. Iranian analyst Ali Akbar Barzenuni warned that rising military activity pointed to a confrontation that could slip out of control if either side crosses the other's red lines. Egyptian strategic affairs expert Major General Samir Farag said Washington could resort to direct military action if Tehran maintains pressure on the strait. Asif Mulham, director of the Moscow-based JSM Research Center, argued the conflict could stretch beyond the nuclear dispute, tied to a broader contest for global influence among the United States, Russia and China.