US strikes on Iran hit a fourth straight night — and Hormuz is the target
The US launched a second wave of strikes on Iranian military targets on Greater Tunb island, the fourth consecutive night of bombing, aimed at protecting shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
Fourth night, same war. The United States bombed Iran again on Wednesday night, in a second wave of strikes that began at 8pm Lisbon time — and this round had a very specific goal: degrading Iran’s ability to threaten ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz.
What did the US hit in Iran overnight?
According to US Central Command, precision munitions were used against coastal defence systems, depots and cruise-missile launch platforms on Greater Tunb, a tiny island in the Persian Gulf. Small as it is, it sits right at the mouth of the strait that carries roughly a fifth of the world’s oil — which is exactly why Tehran has used it to menace commercial routes. The official operation statements are on the CENTCOM website.
The logic is the one Washington has repeated since Trump declared the ceasefire over at the start of the week: grind down, night after night, whatever Iran can point at shipping. Monday’s targets were bases and infrastructure in Bushehr, Chah Bahar, Jask, Konarak, Abu Musa and Bandar Abbas.
Why does Hormuz matter so much?
Because it is the planet’s energy chokepoint, and the price of everything else starts there. Brent is already above 84 dollars and has climbed more than 10% in a week, with the shipping blockade doing the rest. If you live in Portugal, that maths eventually shows up at the pump and on the energy bill, as it did in the previous escalations.
On the Iranian side the response has been scattered so far — after its biggest retaliation hit US bases in Qatar, the UAE, Bahrain and Kuwait, Tehran claimed strikes in Kuwait and Jordan this week. Nothing suggests the escalation is slowing: with no diplomatic channel in sight, every night has brought a fresh target list. And half the world keeps glancing at the map of the Gulf with a knot in its stomach.
Image: U.S. Navy / Wikimedia Commons (public domain)
