The United States has confirmed that it has begun a new wave of military strikes inside Iran, marking a sharp escalation in already heightened tensions between Washington and Tehran.

“U.S. Central Command forces began launching additional self-defense strikes today at 5:15 p.m. ET against multiple targets in Iran at the Commander in Chief’s direction” CENTCOM (U.S. Central Command) said in a statement posted publicly. “The strikes are in response to Iran’s unwarranted and continued aggression.”

Explosions were reported in several locations across Iran, including Bandar Abbas, Minab, Qeshm Island, and areas in Hormozgan Province. Iranian semi-official and state media outlets reported that multiple sites were struck by what they described as “enemy projectiles,” with some locations identified as military in nature.

Reportedly at approximately 12:45 a.m. local time, a site in Kergan Minab was targeted five times, while additional strikes were reported in Sirik. Most of the reported targets are near the strategic Strait of Hormuz, a critical global shipping route.

The escalation comes just hours after comments from U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, who said military action would begin imminently.

“Central Command will be busy tonight because President Trump said we will be hitting Iran hard and we will be. We will vigorously attack key sites in Iran.” he said at U.S. Central Command headquarters at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa

The developments follow remarks attributed to President Donald Trump, who, according to officials, authorized the operation and said the strikes would proceed “on our terms.”

In response, Iran’s Khatam al-Anbia Central Headquarters announced the closure of the Strait of Hormuz to all vessel traffic following U.S. strikes on southern Iran.

The closure applies to all vessels, including oil tankers and commercial ships, with Iranian officials warning that any movement through the waterway could be targeted.

Iranian media also reported that two ships attempting to transit the Strait were struck, while additional reports say IRGC speedboats were targeted by U.S. forces amid escalating tensions in the area.

At this stage, it remains unclear whether the strikes represent a limited, targeted campaign intended to force diplomatic concessions, or the beginning of a broader sustained military engagement.

More updates are expected as the situation develops.

Many are pointing out that this new military campaign from the leader of the free world began on Chof Hei Sivan, a day the Rebbe associated strongly with the effect of the firmness of a Jew concerning maaters of shleimus haaretz on non-Jewish world leaders.

The Megillas Taanis relates the story of Chof Hei Sivan:

When the descendants of Yishmael with them came Canaanites and Egyptians came to contest the land of Eretz Yisrael before Alexander the Great, the Chachamim said: who will go and argue with them? Gehiva ben Pesisa said to them: I will go and argue with them. If they defeat me, you can say: you defeated an ordinary man among us.

Throughout the argument in front of Alexander the Great, Gehiva ben Pesisa stood firmly quoting the words of Torah that Eretz Yisrael belongs to the Jewish people because Hashem gave it to us. The enemies had no answer and immediately abandoned their homes full of fields planted and vineyards established, and fled, left in shame.

“From here we learn how one must respond to the claims of the nations of the world regarding the Land of Israel”, the Rebbe said at the farbrengen of Shabbos Shelach 5734 (1974).

“One must state clearly that Eretz Yisrael belongs to the Jewish people, not because someone such as Kissinger or Marx said so, and not because of military strength or weaponry, but because this is what is written in the Torah.”

“When a Jew tells a non-Jew that it is written in the Torah, this is precisely what reaches him and affects him deeply, to the point that he retreats.”