The United States launched a fresh wave of strikes on Iran on Wednesday afternoon after reimposing a naval blockade of Iranian ports, while Iran threatened to shut off more regional energy exports.

The strikes marked the latest escalation of attacks and counterattacks launched by the two sides as they vie for control of the Strait of Hormuz, which prior to the war saw the transit of about a fifth of global oil and gas shipments.

In a short statement, the US Central Command said it “began launching a wave of strikes” against Iran at around midday Israel time.

“The strikes are designed to further degrade military capabilities Iranian forces have used to attack commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz,” CENTCOM added.

Around 90 minutes later, CENTCOM said it had concluded the strikes, which it said targeted coastal defense systems and cruise missile storage and launch sites on Iran’s Greater Tunb Island.

The daylight strikes came hours after the US military concluded an hours-long overnight bombing campaign against dozens of military targets near the Strait of Hormuz and Iranian coastal areas.

Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency cited the Iranian military as saying at least seven personnel were killed in US strikes on a military base in Bampur overnight.

The Iranian army alleged that the strikes were intended to cause maximum casualties, with 13 missiles hitting a guesthouse, guard posts, and accommodation facilities at the base near the southeastern city of Iranshahr.

It added that a number of personnel were wounded, and promised a “decisive response” to the attack.

Including those at the barracks, more than 30 people have been killed in recent days, Iranian government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani said, without elaborating.

Hossein Kermanpour, a spokesperson for the Iranian Health Ministry, said that over 260 people were wounded in overnight strikes alone — a figure far larger than for any other round of recent violence between Iran and the US. He did not say how many people were killed........

© The Times of Israel