The Japan Times - Iran attacks US targets despite Trump threats

Trump said his military was prepared to attack Iran "any time we want" after extensive US bombardment of sites across the country left at least 19 Iranians dead.

Tehran retaliated by hitting US military targets across the Middle East, including in Kuwait, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region.

The clashes deepen the ongoing impasse in the war, as Iran maintains a stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz oil export route and the US presses its counter-blockade of Iranian ports.

Security chief Mohsen Rezaei warned the United States that Iran had adopted a "new strategy" in the war that "will shatter your foundations".

Kuwait's army said Thursday it was intercepting a missile and drone attack from Iran, with Iranian state TV confirming that Tehran was targeting US bases in the Gulf state "in response to America's crimes against the Iranian people".

The latest round of fighting began when Washington hit Iranian targets on Sunday, the first known strikes in several weeks, saying it was trying to stop Tehran placing sea mines in the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran said Sunday's strikes resulted in "casualties" and responded by targeting US troops in Jordan and the United Arab Emirates.

Projectiles also struck two oil tankers in unclaimed attacks, one of which killed two Filipino sailors, according to a Saudi shipping company.

- 'Maximum pressure' -

Aside from military action, Washington has vowed to choke Iran's economy, threatening to slap sanctions on its trade partners.

Energy Secretary Chris Wright pledged on Wednesday that a US plan for expanded sanctions targeting the Islamic republic's economic partners would deliver "absolutely maximum pressure".

Trump also suggested on Wednesday renaming the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic shipping lane that Tehran has effectively shut for six months, as "Trump Strait" -- although he implied later that he wasn't serious.

"Now that we have it under U.S.A. control, should we change the name Hormuz Strait to TRUMP STRAIT???" the US president wrote on Truth Social.

Iran's pummelling of US military targets across the region came after a US attack that hit a wedding in the country's south, prompting fury from Tehran.

The Iranian Red Crescent said shrapnel from the missile attack in the coastal town of Kuhestak killed four people, including a child, and wounded more than 50.

The US military did not address the attack directly.

US Central Command (CENTCOM) spokesman Tim Hawkins said "the US military never targets civilians, unlike the IRGC," referring to Iran's Revolutionary Guards.

- 'Acts like Satan' -

Iran's top negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf lashed out at Washington over the wedding attack, calling the United States "Satan".

"If a power acts like Satan, picks targets like Satan, and kills like Satan, it's Satan," he posted on X.

Iranians expressed regret at the return to hostilities.

Hossein Moazami, 50, who is self-employed, called the attacks "truly distressing."

"I hope they all return to the negotiating table because the only people suffering from this are the Iranian people," he said. "The Americans are on the other side of the world and nothing happens to them."

A video shared by an Iranian government account showed debris and damage at what it said was the wedding site in Kuhestak following the US strike, with people heard screaming in the background.

"It is a very saddening incident," Ali Mallahi, father of the bride and owner of the building that was hit, said in a video carried by state TV.

"Thank God the casualties were not higher."

The war erupted on February 28 with US-Israeli attacks on Iran that killed its supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

A fragile ceasefire collapsed after attacks on commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz, through which one-fifth of world oil supplies previously flowed.

Israel's defence minister said meanwhile that his country was prepared to respond "with great force" if attacked by Iran over the Jewish high holiday season, which begins in mid-September.

"For now, they are striking throughout the region except us," Israel Katz told a conference hosted by Israeli media outlets.

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K.Tanaka--JT