💥 U.S. STRIKES IRGC TARGETS IN IRAN: At 12:00 PM ET, 7:00 PM Israel time, CENTCOM announced: “Today at 12 p.m. ET, U.S. forces began striking Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) targets in Iran. The strikes follow recent attempted attacks by the IRGC against commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and against American service members deployed to the region”.
The U.S. military is carrying out airstrikes in southern Iran. Explosions have been reported in Bandar Abbas, Sirik, Qeshm, Chabahar, Konarak, Jask, Minab and Asaluyeh in Bushehr province. Specific targets, damage and the scale or duration of the operation have not yet been disclosed.
Axios reports the attacks are part of the limited-strike strategy around the Strait of Hormuz that President Trump and senior advisers had been considering, intended to prevent Iran from rebuilding radar, missile and other capabilities that could threaten tankers, U.S. ships and aircraft.
🇺🇸 TRUMP CONFIRMS STRIKES AND THREATENS MUCH LARGER ATTACK: President Trump said: “The United States is, as we speak, striking Iranian Targets near the Strait of Hormuz. The strikes are large and powerful, and in retaliation for the Iranians’ failed attempt at adding sea mines to the Strait, which currently has no mines (They have been completely removed or detonated!), and the Iranians shooting eight missiles, all successfully knocked down, at our Military Base in Jordan. If the failed Nation of Iran retaliates for this very justified attack, they will be hit again at a much harder and higher level, but it will not be the biggest attack of them all, that is waiting in the wings and, when it is over, there will be very little left of the Islamic Republic of Iran! President DONALD J. TRUMP”
Trump separately said: “If they retaliate, they will be hit much harder. And if they do it again, they will be no longer. They don't stop. They are crazy and they're stupid. They tried to rebuild their radar because they can't see anything. We waited until it was almost built and then we hit it. I think an agreement with them isn't worth the paper it is written on. We gave them a lot of chances”.
🕘 ISRAEL REALTIME ASSESSMENT: This is the most important development since Trump vowed, “We’re going to hit them hard. There will be a response.” The administration has now moved from threat to active military retaliation.
The initial U.S. framing remains consistent with a controlled campaign centered on Iranian capabilities threatening the Strait of Hormuz and American forces, rather than, at least for now, a return to unrestricted large-scale strikes across Iran. Trump’s warning, however, explicitly leaves open the possibility of substantially broader attacks if Iran retaliates.
⚠️ IRAN THREATENS RETALIATION: A senior Iranian military source told Tasnim News Agency: “Iranian security forces will definitely respond to the Americans' crimes in the attack on points in the country, and this response will be several times sharper than their attacks. As we warned and promised in the past, American interests and bases in the region will soon be a target for an Iranian response”.
The IRGC warned: “Harsh punishment awaits the aggressors. Americans will regret their new attacks”.
A senior Iranian military source separately told Tasnim: “Iran will respond to tonight's U.S. strikes with a response several times greater. American bases and interests in the region will quickly come under Iranian fire. Americans should watch the sky and witness their own humiliation”.
⚠️ Launches from Iran have been reported.
🛡️ REGIONAL SECURITY ALERTS: U.S. embassies in Israel, Qatar and Iraq have issued security alerts urging Americans across the Middle East to “exercise heightened vigilance” amid concerns over further regional escalation.
🔁 Know someone who should see this? Forward it.
🌐 Full updates & discussion: https://www.israelrealtime.com