The U.S. bombed Iran Wednesday for the second consecutive evening, and Iran again retaliated against U.S. bases in Gulf countries overnight, as the Iran War entered its 104th day. President Donald Trump said he will escalate with more strikes tonight.
In a Truth Social post, President Donald Trump on Thursday morning vowed that “at some point in the not too distant future, we will be taking Kharg Island, and other oil infrastructure points, and assume total control of their Oil and Gas Markets, much like we have with Venezuela, which is working out brilliantly for both Venezuela and the United States of America,” adding that he will bomb Iran “VERY HARD TONIGHT.”
U.S. Central Command said the Wednesday evening strikes targeted “Iranian military surveillance capabilities, communication systems, and air defense sites across Iran.”
Tasnim News Agency reported that Iran retaliated with two waves of attacks, which “struck and destroyed eighteen important targets belonging to the…U.S. army in the Ali Salem and Ahmad al-Jaber air bases, as well as the Sheikh Issa air bases.”
Iran said Wednesday that the U.S. attacks on Tuesday destroyed two reservoirs, leaving 20,000 residents in its southern Hormozgan province without water. Abdolhamid Hamzepour, the director of the Hormozgan Water and Wastewater Company, noted that the residents “live under the harshest climatic conditions and extreme heat” and “have lost access to safe drinking water” as a result of the bombing.
The spokesperson for Kuwait’s Defense Ministry said that 24 drones entered their airspace over the past 48 hours, with no casualties reported.
India’s foreign ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal told reporters Thursday that a ship was attacked by the U.S. Navy, the third Indian-crewed oil tanker to be hit with U.S. strikes this week. Three Indian sailors are reported to have died.
Amwaj Media reported on Thursday evening, citing an Iranian source, that Qatari mediators have helped to finalize a draft paper for an Iran–U.S. memorandum of understanding to end the war.
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Iran’s Tasnim News Agency on Thursday morning dismissed reports that the U.S. and Iran are finalizing an agreement to end the war, saying that “the claim is incorrect as no such text has been finalized,” adding that the “Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has denied the claim” made by Trump that “Iranian officials had contacted him directly and requested a halt to military strikes.”
Israel continued its bombing and occupation of Lebanon, with Lebanon’s Health Ministry reporting Thursday that the death toll from Israeli airstrikes since March 2 is at least 3,711 people.
The price of Brent Crude oil rose to $93.5 per barrel on Thursday while gas prices remained elevated. AAA reported the national average price of regular gas at $4.13.
