US and Iran trade heavy strikes for second night as Strait of Hormuz closure threat sends oil past $95

US strikes for second night

US forces carried out a second round of airstrikes on Iranian military targets during the night of June 10-11, hitting surveillance infrastructure, communication systems and air-defense installations. The strikes, which CENTCOM called "self-defense strikes" in response to "increasingly unjustified Iranian aggression," were ordered by President Trump and lasted just under four hours, concluding at 4:04 a.m. local time. The operation followed a first wave of US strikes the previous night, which came after Iran's downing of a US Apache helicopter near the Strait of Hormuz on Monday. Explosions were reported in the southern Iranian cities of Bandar Abbas, Qeshm, Minab and Sirik, with air-defense systems activating even in western Tehran.

They took too long to negotiate a deal that would have been excellent for them; now they will have to pay the price.

Iranian retaliation hits Gulf bases

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards struck back within hours, launching drones and missiles at American bases in Kuwait and Bahrain. The IRGC claimed it hit eighteen significant targets at Ali Al Salem and Ahmad Al Jaber air bases in Kuwait, as well as Sheikh Isa air base in Bahrain. It also said it fired twelve ballistic missiles at US aircraft stationed at the Al-Azraq base in Jordan, a key logistics hub. Kuwait’s military reported intercepting “hostile aerial targets,” while Bahrain’s interior ministry warned residents to seek shelter amid blaring sirens. Kuwait briefly closed its airspace.

During two waves of operations, eighteen significant targets belonging to American forces were struck.

Strait of Hormuz and oil markets

Tehran followed the strikes with its most provocative threat yet: a warning that any vessel attempting to transit the Strait of Hormuz would be considered a target, effectively announcing a full closure of the strategic waterway. Iranian media reported that IRGC forces struck two oil tankers in the strait, though independent sources did not immediately confirm the claim. Shipping-tracking data showed only four commercial ships — most linked to Iran — passed through on Tuesday, and none had been recorded by Wednesday morning, according to Bloomberg. Global oil prices spiked in response: West Texas Intermediate gained nearly 3% to $92.68 a barrel, while Brent crude climbed 2.5% to $95.45, with investors pricing in a prolonged disruption in energy flows.

Ceasefire teetering

The exchanges all but shattered the fragile ceasefire agreed on April 8 after five weeks of war. US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the military operations were designed to force Tehran into a peace agreement on Washington’s terms, warning that “if we have to negotiate with bombs, we will negotiate with bombs.” Trump claimed in a Fox News interview that Iranian officials had called him seeking a halt to the bombings and that the strikes would “stop soon.” Tehran vehemently denied any such contact, with the Foreign Ministry accusing the US of “undermining the diplomatic process through contradictory messages.”

If we have to negotiate with bombs, we will negotiate with bombs, and we are very gifted at that.