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As the United States and Iran continue their tit-for-tat clashes, tensions across the Middle East have returned to the level seen in February this year, when the war broke out. The U.S. has moved to bolster its military presence, expanding airstrike targets into Iran's interior while massing fighter jets in the Middle East and notifying Israel of additional aerial refueling tanker deployments. Iran countered immediately by warning of a full-scale offensive and striking civilian facilities in pro-U.S. Gulf states.
In fact, U.S. forces have carried out night airstrikes on Iran for eight consecutive days without a break since the 11th of this month (local time), expanding their scope to civilian facilities such as railways, bridges, and airports. According to Iranian media reports, several bridges and railway facilities around Bandar Abbas, a major southern port city, came under attack, and roads connecting to neighboring provinces were closed. These facilities are said to be the military logistics infrastructure cited by U.S. Central Command. The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), citing a senior U.S. official, reported that the purpose of the airstrikes is to cut off supply routes leading to port cities and naval bases that Iran uses to attack ships and project power in the Strait of Hormuz.
According to U.S. online outlet Axios, U.S. forces also notified Israeli air bases of plans to boost aerial refueling tankers. The plan is to reach a military level equivalent to that of Feb. 28 this year, when the U.S. and Israel launched airstrikes on Iran. Aerial refueling tankers, which can significantly extend fighter jets' operational range and airborne time, are considered one of the key assets for long-range airstrike operations. The WSJ also noted the risk of escalation, saying U.S. forces are redeploying fighter jets from bases in Europe to the Middle East. The U.S. currently has 30 aerial refueling tankers stationed at Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv, Israel, and is deploying a similar number at Ramon Airport in southern Israel. Israel has the advantage of being relatively safe from Iranian attacks compared with other U.S. bases in the Middle East.
U.S. media outlets reported that at a meeting held at the White House on the 14th of this month, President Donald Trump was briefed by aides on options including deploying ground troops, intensifying airstrikes, and bombing underground nuclear facilities. Trump also raised the level of economic pressure on Iran. On Truth Social, regarding the anti-Russia sanctions bill being pushed by Republicans, he pressed that "Iran should be added."
Amid this, Iranian state media reported that several Iranian ports along the Strait of Hormuz came under U.S. airstrikes on the 19th. In particular, Qeshm Island, a key energy logistics hub at the entrance to the Strait of Hormuz, was reportedly attacked with at least six missiles. According to Iran's state-run Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA), residents around Qeshm Island, a key energy logistics hub in Iran's southern Hormozgan province, and the major port city of Bandar Abbas heard explosions that day.
Iran, too, has continued the tit-for-tat standoff by striking Gulf states that host U.S. bases. Targets included a power plant and a seawater desalination facility in Kuwait, and a U.S. drone base and an artificial intelligence (AI) center in Bahrain. In the Strait of Hormuz, one oil tanker was hit on the 17th, and on the 18th two tankers exploded, causing a large fire. Mohsen Rezaei, military adviser to Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, warned on state broadcaster IRIB on the 17th that "if the U.S. attacks continue for two to three days, we will enter a phase of full-scale offensive and destructive operations," while Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it would "continue effective and precise attacks against the enemy until peace comes to the southern coastline and the Strait of Hormuz."
Anglo-American media outlets have offered analyses that Iran's missile stockpile remains sufficient and its ability to evade U.S. air defenses has improved. Even as the U.S. continues airstrikes on Iran and holds military superiority, Iran maintains a limited but sustained capacity for missile strikes.
Even Yemen's pro-Iran Houthi rebels, who declared an end to the ceasefire, have vowed to strike Saudi Arabia's oil facilities and key infrastructure if the armed conflict intensifies. Reuters and others also reported that Iran instructed the Houthi rebels to blockade the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, the entrance from the Arabian Sea into the Red Sea. Since the Strait of Hormuz was blocked, Saudi Arabia has been exporting a considerable amount of crude oil via the Red Sea route through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
