US Bombs Iran Ninth Straight Night as Ceasefire Crumbles
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- US Central Command launched strikes on Iran for a ninth consecutive night, with Iranian media reporting explosions in Sirik, Jask, Tabriz, and Chabahar — the Tabriz strikes marking the first time the northwestern city has been hit since the recent escalation began
- The month-old ceasefire between Washington and Tehran has unravelled amid competing efforts to control the Strait of Hormuz, with the US enforcing a naval blockade on Iranian ports and Iran targeting vessels it says violated its transit rules
- Iran retaliated with missiles launched from Lorestan province targeting US military assets across the region, while Kuwait reported its desalination plant attacked for a second consecutive day, Bahrain sirens sounded twice, and Jordan shot down three Iranian missiles
- The IRGC said four vessels attempted to transit the Strait of Hormuz via an "unsafe route" with US backing; two abandoned the attempt and two were involved in an unexplained "accident" — separately, CENTCOM said it redirected six commercial vessels and disabled another to enforce its blockade
- US military casualties since the war began on February 28 have reached 17 killed and more than 420 wounded, with the latest three deaths including two soldiers in Friday's Iranian attack in Jordan and a third killed Saturday during ordnance disposal from a downed Iranian drone in Iraq
- The broader war, which started when the US and Israel attacked Iran on February 28, has killed thousands of people — mostly in Iran and Lebanon — and caused major disruptions to energy supplies
Why it matters: Both the US and Iran are now enforcing competing blockades on a strait through which a significant share of global oil passes, with 17 American service members killed and over 420 wounded since the February 28 escalation began. The collapse of the month-old ceasefire, combined with Iranian strikes on civilian infrastructure like Kuwait's desalination plant, signals the conflict is expanding geographically rather than winding down.
