US strikes Iran 11th night, threatens nuclear site
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- CENTCOM completed its 11th consecutive evening of air strikes on Iran, targeting military operations centres, maritime capabilities, aircraft hangars, drone storage facilities, and military logistics infrastructure.
- Strikes hit new targets including a military site on the outskirts of Tabriz in northwestern Iran (around 2:40am local time) and locations across Tehran where air-defence systems activated — a departure from the prior focus on southern Iran and the Strait of Hormuz area.
- Trump said he plans to attack a suspected Iranian nuclear site called Pickaxe Mountain "pretty soon, and very heavily"; Iran's Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters warned of expanded regional attacks if the US strikes nuclear sites.
- Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told Congress the war has cost $37.5bn and requested an additional $90bn in Pentagon funding, drawing pushback from Senator Jon Ossoff, who challenged Hegseth's prior claim that Iran's military had been "destroyed."
- Iran retaliated with drone attacks on Gulf states — the Kuwaiti army said it was intercepting Iranian drones — while Qatar's PM and Saudi Arabia's Prince Faisal bin Farhan held calls to coordinate "enhanced diplomatic efforts" referencing the collapsed June 17 memorandum of understanding.
- CENTCOM claimed the Strait of Hormuz "remains open" and said US forces have helped facilitate transit of approximately 900 commercial vessels and 450 million barrels of crude oil since early May, despite Iranian attacks on more than 30 commercial vessels over three months.
Why it matters: The expansion of strikes to Tabriz and Tehran — beyond the southern Strait of Hormuz corridor — combined with Trump's threat against a nuclear site and Iran's vow to widen attacks, signals a clear escalation despite parallel mediation from Pakistan and Qatar-Saudi channels. With Hegseth seeking $90bn in additional funding and lawmakers already questioning whether Iran's military was truly "destroyed," the financial and political sustainability of the open-ended campaign is now under Congressional scrutiny.
