ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – The United States early Thursday launched fresh attacks against Iran, prompting Tehran to retaliate and strike American bases in the region, as the exchange of attacks seemingly erodes hopes for a peace deal. 

In a statement, the US military said it carried out “additional self-defense strikes against multiple targets in Iran” at President Donald Trump’s direction. 

“CENTCOM forces launched strikes on Iranian military surveillance capabilities, communication systems, and air defense sites across Iran. US Marine Corps, Air Force, and Navy assets fired precision munitions on Iranian targets that posed a threat to US forces and international commercial ships transiting regional waters,” it said. 

Iranian state media reported explosions in the capital Tehran and several areas in the south, including Bandar Abbas, Qeshm Island, and Minab. 

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in a statement also said they struck US bases in Bahrain and Kuwait. State broadcaster IRIB also reported that the Harir airbase in the Kurdistan Region’s Erbil province “was targeted by Iranian missiles.” 

A US command center in Jordan was also targeted “using 12 ballistic missiles,” according to the IRGC. 

The attacks came after Trump on Wednesday said that the US will “hit Iran hard today” after an American Apache helicopter was downed, which led to both sides trading strikes the day prior. 

Earlier in the day, Trump had lamented that Tehran was taking too long to reach a deal, coming after Iranian strikes on Israel, in retaliation for the latter's continued bombardment of Lebanon, threw a spanner in the works of the negotiating process.