Hormuz crisis deepens: Iran vows revenge as US launches fresh strikes

Iran faced a fresh wave of US military strikes on Sunday, as the rapidly escalating confrontation between Tehran and Washington pushed West Asia closer to a broader regional conflict.

The latest attacks — the third round of US strikes this week — came after Washington accused Iran of orchestrating an attack on a Cyprus-flagged commercial container ship in the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz.

Iranian state media reported explosions across several key southern port cities, including Bandar Abbas, Sirik, Chabahar, Bandar-e Deyr and Asaluyeh, with air raid sirens sounding as strikes reportedly targeted strategic sites along the country's coastline. Iranian authorities have yet to issue a comprehensive assessment of casualties or damage.

The strikes followed a dramatic escalation by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which announced the temporary closure of the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world's busiest energy shipping routes. The IRGC also claimed it had fired a warning shot at a vessel attempting to transit through what it described as an "unauthorised route," signalling Tehran's determination to tighten its control over the strategically critical waterway.

As tensions mounted, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei vowed to avenge the killing of his father, former supreme leader Ali Khamenei, in earlier US-Israeli military operations. In a televised address, he declared that "revenge is the will of our nation," reaffirming Tehran's resolve to respond despite growing international calls for restraint.

The United States, meanwhile, said the latest strikes were carried out in response to what US Central Command (CENTCOM) described as an unprovoked attack by the IRGC on civilian maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz. Washington has maintained that its operations are aimed at safeguarding freedom of navigation through one of the world's most critical maritime corridors.

“At 7:15 pm ET today, US Central Command forces began launching the third round of strikes this week against Iran after Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces blatantly attacked M/V GFS Galaxy, a Cyprus-flagged container ship transiting the Strait of Hormuz,” CENTCOM said in a statement.

The latest military exchanges have intensified fears of a wider regional war, with the Strait of Hormuz once again emerging as the focal point of global concern. Any prolonged disruption to shipping through the narrow passage could have far-reaching consequences for international energy markets and global trade, even as diplomatic efforts to prevent further escalation appear increasingly strained.

With agency inputs