The US military carried out a fresh wave of air strikes against Iran late Wednesday, targeting military infrastructure that Washington said was linked to threats against commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran struck back by targeting US military sites in neighbouring countries in what it called an “existential war” with America.

In a statement posted on X, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said American forces concluded an evening round of strikes at 9pm ET on July 15, hitting Iranian command centres, air defence systems, missile and drone capabilities, and coastal surveillance facilities.

CENTCOM said the operation was aimed at further reducing Iran’s ability to threaten commercial vessels transiting the strategic Strait of Hormuz.

The command added that US forces used precision-guided munitions to strike multiple targets, including sites in the southern port city of Bandar Abbas.

Earlier on Wednesday, US forces also carried out a separate 90-minute strike targeting Iranian coastal defence and cruise missile positions on Greater Tunb Island, according to CENTCOM.

“The US military is holding Iran accountable at the Commander in Chief’s direction,” the statement said.

“US forces struck ​Iranian command centres, air defence sites, missile and drone capabilities, and coastal surveillance facilities,” it said, adding it also hit targets in Bandar Abbas, ⁠home to Iran’s largest port and key navy and Iran’s Revolutionary Guards facilities on the Strait of Hormuz.

“Earlier this morning, American forces struck coastal defence and cruise missile sites on Greater Tunb Island during a 90-minute wave,” ​the US military added.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said on Wednesday it had struck US military targets in the region, including in Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan.

The Guards said they targeted a gathering for US military personnel and ​a radar system at Ali Al Salem air base in Kuwait with a missile and drone attack.

Three US officials told Reuters that US strikes aimed at forcing open the strait are also targeting Iranian military capabilities the US would want to destroy before executing more complex operations.

The US military also said it disabled an unladen oil tanker attempting to sail toward Iran’s Kharg Island after it ignored multiple warnings, firing Hellfire missiles into the ship’s smokestack.

Iranian news media reported a series of explosions, mainly in coastal areas such as Bandar Abbas.

Other explosions or projectile strikes were reported around the city of Ahvaz, ​just inland from the northern end of the Gulf, and Konarak, Sirik and Qeshm in southern Iran.

Press TV reported at least two explosions in the central Iranian city of Khondab, about 250km southwest of Tehran.

Mehr news agency reported ‌Iran activated its ⁠air defences in Tehran to counter “hostile threats.”

Iranian state broadcaster IRIB reported that the US attacks struck near a hospital in Ahvaz that houses a pediatric cancer centre, forcing the temporary evacuation of the hospital.

Families have come out to the streets around the hospital to care for their children, the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) said.

The latest attacks come as tensions between Washington and Tehran continue to escalate over the Strait of Hormuz.

The strikes follow a series of military exchanges in which US forces have targeted Iranian positions, while Tehran has responded with attacks on American military bases across the region, despite a Pakistan-mediated framework agreement intended to pave the way for a lasting settlement.