The United States confirmed Tuesday that its fourth consecutive day of airstrikes against Iran reached Bushehr province, home to the country's only operating nuclear power plant, as American forces expanded their campaign against Tehran's military infrastructure.
U.S. Central Command said the five-hour operation struck military targets in Bushehr as well as Chah Bahar, Jask, Konarak, Abu Musa and Bandar Abbas, targeting coastal defense systems, missile and drone sites, and other facilities supporting Iran's military operations along the Persian Gulf.
The Guardian, citing CENTCOM, reported the strikes were directed at military targets in Bushehr province and not the Bushehr nuclear power plant itself.
Iranian officials said four locations in Bushehr city were struck during Tuesday's operation, while state media reported explosions across the province and said air defenses were activated in several southern coastal locations.
The renewed U.S. offensive follows a fresh outbreak of hostilities in and around the Strait of Hormuz after Iran resumed attacks on commercial shipping and U.S. military positions in the region, prompting Washington to restore a naval blockade of Iranian ports and expand airstrikes against Iran's coastal military assets.
Reuters reported U.S. officials view the campaign as an effort to degrade Iran's ability to threaten merchant vessels, U.S. forces and allied militaries while ensuring freedom of navigation through the strategic waterway.
The fighting has also become a struggle over who controls access to the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly one-fifth of the world's seaborne oil trade passes.
Iran has sought to assert greater control over traffic through the strait and regulate shipping transiting the waterway, while the United States has insisted the passage must remain open to international commerce free from Iranian interference.
President Donald Trump had proposed imposing transit fees on commercial cargo moving through the Strait of Hormuz to help offset the cost of U.S. security operations before announcing Tuesday that he would instead pursue investment agreements with Gulf nations, although the broader dispute over control of the waterway remains unresolved.
The Hill reported Monday that the renewed U.S. naval blockade is intended to choke off Iran's ability to project military power from its southern ports while supporting broader operations against Tehran's naval and missile forces.
Bushehr sits on Iran's Persian Gulf coast and is home to Iran's only operating nuclear power plant, which was built with Russian assistance.
The province also hosts naval bases, missile sites and other military infrastructure supporting Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the Iranian Navy along the Gulf.
According to The Guardian's account of the CENTCOM briefing, more than 50,000 U.S. service members are deployed across the Middle East, and commanders described Tuesday's operation as another step toward reducing Iran's ability to attack commercial shipping and challenge U.S. and allied naval forces.
Iran has vowed to continue retaliatory attacks against U.S. forces and regional allies as the conflict between Washington and Tehran intensifies.
Reuters reported Iran has launched missile and drone attacks against U.S. military facilities in Bahrain and Kuwait, both of which host major American bases, while also claiming strikes on U.S. positions in Jordan.
The Wall Street Journal and The Guardian have reported that Iran also resumed attacks on commercial shipping in and around the Strait of Hormuz, including missile and drone strikes targeting oil tankers and cargo vessels that U.S. officials say prompted the latest phase of the American military campaign.
U.S. officials have said the renewed strikes are intended to degrade Iran's missile, drone and naval capabilities while preventing further attacks on American forces, Gulf allies and international shipping.