By Middle East Correspondent
London, (The Muslim News): Fresh wave of explosions was reported across at least five Iranian cities on Wednesday night as the US military announced a second round of strikes targeting Iranian facilities. The latest strikes came as Iran’s Health Ministry said at least 35 civilians had been killed and more than 300 injured in recent US attacks in southern Iran.
Iranian media reported blasts in the southern cities of Ahvaz and Chabahar, as well as near Bandar Abbas, Konarak and Rask.
The Mehr News Agency reported that US strikes hit an area near a children’s cancer hospital in Ahvaz, forcing the facility to be evacuated. State news agency IRNA said US projectiles struck near the southern port city of Bandar Abbas, while Tasnim news agency reported another projectile exploded near Rask in southeastern Iran.
The reports came after the US military’s Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed it had launched a new wave of operations against Iran.
“At 3 p.m. ET, U.S. forces launched operations for a second wave of strikes today against Iran,” CENTCOM said in a post on X.
The command said the strikes were aimed at Iranian military capabilities allegedly being used to threaten vessels travelling through the Strait of Hormuz, a key international shipping route.
It added that the US military was holding Iran “accountable” under orders from President Donald Trump.
Trump issued a fresh warning to Tehran on Wednesday, saying Iran understood Washington’s position and “better behave” amid escalating tensions between the two countries.
The latest strikes came as Iran’s Health Ministry said at least 35 civilians had been killed and more than 300 injured in recent US attacks in southern Iran.
Ministry spokesman Hossein Kermanpour said the casualties included women and children, with the provinces of Hormozgan, Sistan and Baluchestan, and Khuzestan among the worst affected.
Separately, US strikes hit three locations in the southwestern city of Bushehr on Wednesday morning, according to the province’s governor, who said there were no reported injuries.
The escalation follows several days of military exchanges between Washington and Tehran despite a Pakistan-mediated memorandum of understanding aimed at ending the conflict.
On Tuesday, Trump warned that US strikes would continue and intensify in the coming days, saying Washington could target civilian infrastructures of Iran’s power plants and bridges unless Tehran returned to negotiations.
Since Sunday, the US has carried out daily strikes on Iranian cities and islands, saying the operations were in response to Iranian attacks on commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.
CENTCOM also announced the resumption of a naval blockade on Iran on Tuesday evening.
Iran has responded by targeting what it described as US military facilities in Arab countries, while several governments in the region reported civilian casualties and damage to civilian infrastructure.
Tehran has also sent a letter to the United Nations accusing the US of violating the Pakistan-brokered agreement.
Meanwhile, CENTCOM rejected Iranian state media claims that US forces struck a civilian wheat storage facility in Hoveyzeh during operations on July 14.
“Claim: Iranian state media claims that U.S. forces struck a civilian wheat storage facility in Hoveyzeh on July 14. This is False,” CENTCOM said on X.
The US military said its strikes had targeted Iranian military sites in Bandar Abbas, Khormuj, Ahvaz, Qeshm, Tunb, Bushehr and Kuh-e Stak, claiming the operations were aimed at reducing Iran’s ability to threaten commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
CENTCOM also accused Iran of targeting civilians in the region, saying Tehran had attacked “innocent civilians transiting the strait and in neighbouring Gulf countries”.
The latest escalation marks the most serious confrontation between the two countries in recent days, with fears growing of a wider regional conflict despite diplomatic efforts to secure a ceasefire.
[An infographic titled “US strikes on Iran and Iran’s retaliatory attacks” created in Ankara, Turkiye on July 16, 2026. Photojournalist: Omar Zaghloul/AA]
