US bombs Iran for ninth consecutive night as Hormuz tensions escalate

Iranian media report blasts in cities in the far north and far south, including Tabriz and Chabahar.The United States has launched strikes on Iran for a ninth consecutive night, with Iranian media reporting explosions in multiple cities, including Sirik, Jask, Tabriz and Chabahar.The attacks on Monday came as the US military announced the death of a third soldier in recent days and as a month-old ceasefire agreement between Tehran and Washington unravelled amid a struggle for control of the Strait of Hormuz.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4US soldier killed in Iraq during ‘controlled detonation’ of Iranian dronelist 2 of 4Iranians suffer from power blackouts during war and heatwavelist 3 of 4US launches new Iran strikes after two soldiers killed: What’s the latest?list 4 of 4Iran attacks Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan after US hits Iranian nuclear siteend of listIn a statement, the US military said the latest strikes were aimed at “degrading Iranian military capabilities used to attack commercial vessels and mariners transiting the Strait of Hormuz”.Iran’s IRIB state broadcaster said several explosions were heard in the port cities of Mahshahr and Imam Khomeini, in the southwestern Khuzestan province. It reported further explosions near the cities of Sirik and Jask in the Hormozgan province on Iran’s southern coast, as well as near the city of Khvormuj in the Bushehr province.Three explosions were also heard near the city of Tabriz in northwestern Iran, IRIB added, while air defences were activated in the southeastern cities of Konarak and Chabahar in the Sistan and Baluchestan province, according to the semi-official Fars news agency.Tehran promises retaliationAl Jazeera’s Tohid Asadi, reporting from the Iranian capital, Tehran, said the latest US strikes had again targeted Iran’s southern coast. He added that the explosions in Tabriz, if confirmed, mark the first time the northwestern city has come under attack since the recent escalation began.