> U.S. carries out new military strikes in Iran

The American strikes were in response to attempted attacks by Iran on commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and U.S. service members in the Middle East, military officials at Central Command said.

U.S. forces launched a new round of strikes inside Iran, military officials said Tuesday, an expansion of attacks that recently resumed after weeks of a tenuous ceasefire.

The strikes were in response to attempted attacks by Iran on commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and U.S. service members in the Middle East, according to Central Command, which oversees operations in the region.

The Iranian attacks on U.S. troop positions were part of a retaliatory cycle that began Sunday. The United States conducted airstrikes on missile launchers on Larak Island that were preparing to disperse sea mines into the strait, U.S. officials said.

In response, Iran fired ballistic missiles at a Jordanian base housing U.S. troops. President Donald Trump said on social media Tuesday that eight missiles were intercepted, and there were no reports of casualties from U.S. officials.

If Tehran retaliates, Trump said, it “will be hit again at a much harder and higher level.”

The U.S. has 50,000 U.S. troops in the region, both at bases dispersed around the Middle East and on numerous warships now focused on enforcing a naval blockade of Iran ordered by Trump to inflict economic pressure on Tehran.

Negotiations to end the conflict and curtail Iran’s nuclear program have been stalled, with no end to the six-month conflict on the horizon.