U.S. Central Command completed its 12th consecutive night of strikes on Iran overnight Wednesday, targeting maritime capabilities, missile and drone storage facilities, coastal surveillance sites, and air defense assets.
"The strikes further degrade Iran's ability to attack civilian mariners and commercial vessels," CENTCOM said in a statement.
The U.S. Military said that this month it has hit dozens of Iranian military sites on land and resumed the naval blockade on the Islamic Republic, redirecting nine commercial vessels and disabling another to prevent their entry or departure from Iranian ports.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said on Thursday morning that it had prevented three oil tankers from transiting the Strait of Hormuz, asserting control of the chokepoint. According to Iranian state media reported by AFP, the IRGC said "Three oil tankers... were trying to pass through the mine-laid route south of the Strait of Hormuz, but after one of them exploded and caught fire, the other two quickly turned around and turned back."
President Donald Trump said Wednesday that Tehran is not ready to reach an accord with Washington, though "They'll be ready very soon." He characterized the situation as a skirmish, stating: "This skirmish that we have with the Islamic Republic of Iran, and I call it that because let me tell you, they're getting hit so hard, and they want to make a deal. But I say they're not ready to make a deal because every time they make a deal, they want to change it."
Earlier Wednesday, Trump threatened strikes on Iranian infrastructure should the Islamic Republic continue targeting vessels in the Strait of Hormuz. "From this point forward, any time the Islamic Republic of Iran shoots at a ship in the Strait of Hormuz, whether it be by missile, rocket, drone or another device or weapon, the United States will bomb and destroy one bridge or power plant, including those located next to, or in, the capital city of Tehran," He wrote on Truth Social.