US Strikes Iran for 11th Night; Trump Threatens Underground Nuclear Site

The United States launched military strikes on Iran for the 11th consecutive night late Tuesday, with President Trump announcing plans to soon attack an underground nuclear enrichment complex, according to BBC reporting. The escalation marks a shift in targeting from military and maritime infrastructure to nuclear facilities, raising stakes in a conflict already straining global shipping and energy markets.

US Central Command said the wave of strikes was designed to continue degrading Iran's ability to threaten commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, per the BBC. Explosions were reported in the north-western city of Tabriz, the south-eastern ports of Chabahar and Konarak, and in the southern city of Bushehr, home to Iran's only nuclear power plant, according to the same reporting.

Central Command said it targeted Iranian military operations centres, maritime capabilities, aircraft hangars, drone storage facilities, and military logistics infrastructure. The command accused Iran of attacking more than 30 commercial vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz over the past three months, per BBC reporting.

In a departure from standard military practice, Trump told reporters he would attack a complex known as Pickaxe Mountain, an underground nuclear site where Iran is suspected of building an undeclared enrichment facility. Trump stated, 'We'll be hitting that area pretty soon, and very heavily,' and said he would not normally announce targets but 'there's not a thing they can do about it,' according to the BBC.

Iran's Khatam Al-Anbiya military command responded by warning it would consider any attack on the nuclear site as an expansion of war in the region, threatening strikes on 'all the interests of America, the allies and supporters,' per BBC reporting. Kuwait's army said early Wednesday morning that its air defences were engaging with drone attacks from Iran, while Bahrain and Jordan said they had intercepted drone and missile strikes, according to the same source.

The conflict has already disrupted global energy flows. A June ceasefire agreement between Iran and the US, which included provisions to halt military operations and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, collapsed three weeks later, according to BBC reporting. Trump declared the ceasefire over after Iranian attacks on ships in Hormuz and US strikes in response. Two tankers that had loaded Saudi crude at the Red Sea port of Yanbu made U-turns on Tuesday, heading toward the Suez Canal instead, according to the British maritime risk management group Vanguard cited by the BBC. A Houthi media official announced they were closing the Bab al-Mandab Strait, the Red Sea's southern gateway, to Saudi vessels, per the BBC. Trump threatened to 'take care of' the Iran-backed Houthi rebels if they followed through on the blockade.

The war with Iran has cost the US some 37.5 billion dollars so far, a rise of nearly 8 billion dollars since May, according to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, per BBC reporting. Hegseth told the Senate Appropriations Committee that military training would have to be curtailed unless lawmakers approved an urgent funding boost.