US expands strikes to Tehran area for first time, disables ship accused of breaking blockade

WASHINGTON, DC: US forces struck areas around Tehran for the first time on Thursday, July 16, and disabled a merchant ship accused of attempting to breach Washington's naval blockade, marking a major expansion of military pressure on Iran.

The attacks drew fresh Iranian missile and drone strikes against US allies in the region. The widening campaign also further unraveled an interim peace deal that had briefly eased fears of a broader regional conflict.

US widens strikes around Tehran

The latest American strikes reached areas surrounding Tehran, extending the campaign beyond previous targets and signaling a broader military strategy, NBC News reported on Thursday.

Iranian state media also reported attacks in Semnan province, home to the country's ballistic missile production and space program, as well as strikes in Hamedan, Hormozgan, Khuzestan, Lorestan, Markazi, and Sistan and Baluchestan.

The expansion came after the “US resumed daylight strikes on Wednesday, increasing the pace of operations,” the report stated.

US Central Command said an earlier attack on Greater Tunb Island targeted Iranian defense and missile sites at the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz.

According to the report, Iranian officials said US attacks have killed more than 35 people and wounded over 300 during the latest exchange of strikes.

US enforces blockade with tanker strike

American forces also moved to enforce the naval blockade around Iran by targeting the Curaçao-flagged oil tanker Belma, which was sailing toward Kharg Island, Iran's primary oil export terminal, the report said.

According to the US military, the vessel "ignored multiple warnings" before an American aircraft fired a missile into its smokestack, disabling the ship.

Another US strike targeted barracks belonging to Iran's 388th Mechanized Infantry Brigade in Sistan and Baluchestan province, the report cited.

Iranian state television reported that at least 13 missiles were fired, killing seven soldiers, including both conscripts and career military personnel, while wounding several others.

Iran warns against Strait of Hormuz intervention

Iran responded before dawn with missile and drone attacks targeting Bahrain, Jordan, and Kuwait, countries that host US military forces, according to the report.

Authorities reported no immediate casualties or significant damage, although Kuwait later announced another round of incoming fire.

Col Ebrahim Zolfaghari, spokesperson for Iran's Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, warned that Tehran could dramatically expand its response if the US follows through on President Donald Trump's warnings about striking Iranian bridges and power plants.

"All the infrastructure in the region will be crushed under the steel blows of the powerful armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran" if those threats are carried out, Zolfaghari said.

He also declared, "Under no circumstances and in no way will we allow America, as a foreign and extra-regional country, to interfere in the Strait of Hormuz. This is Iran's invincible red line."

Trump maintained Wednesday that Tehran was still seeking an agreement despite the escalating conflict.

"They don't like what we're doing, and they do want to settle," Trump said at the US Army War College in Pennsylvania. "We'll find out whether or not we settle with them, or we just finish it off."

Pakistan said Thursday it was continuing efforts to mediate between Washington and Tehran despite acknowledging diplomacy was becoming increasingly difficult, the report said.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said, "Whenever the parties exhaust the logic of escalation, the formula for peace is there."