U.S. strikes Iran for fifth day as Hormuz tensions rise
U.S. strikes hit Iran for a fifth straight day as fighting spread near the Strait of Hormuz, with about 30 troops still hospitalized after a Kuwait drone strike.
U.S. forces launched a fifth consecutive day of strikes against Iran on Thursday, pushing the fight farther into a sustained campaign centered on the Strait of Hormuz. U.S. Central Command said the attacks were meant to degrade Iran’s ability to strike commercial ships passing through the narrow waterway, while President Donald Trump said Tehran had “taken too long to negotiate a deal” and would “pay the price.”
The exchange has moved well beyond a one-off retaliation cycle. Iran answered with missile and drone fire aimed at U.S. allies and regional sites, including Bahrain, Jordan and Kuwait, turning those countries into flashpoints in a confrontation that now threatens both military bases and the global oil route that runs through Hormuz. About 30 U.S. service members remained hospitalized after an Iranian drone strike in Kuwait, a reminder that the risk to American personnel is no longer limited to ships at sea.
The clearest threshold for a wider regional war is another direct hit on U.S. forces or a major disruption to tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. The fighting has already intersected with commercial shipping concerns and oil-market nerves, and the current round of strikes began against the backdrop of attacks on tankers in the strait and the broader U.S.-Iran confrontation that has deepened since the June 2025 Israel-Iran war.
On Capitol Hill, the operation has faced real resistance. The House passed a measure to halt further military action in Iran by a 215-208 vote, with four Republicans joining Democrats in a largely symbolic rebuke. That narrow margin underscores how little political cover Trump has secured as the strikes stretch into a fifth day and the costs of escalation become more visible.
The stakes now turn on whether Washington keeps trying to suppress Iran’s reach into commercial shipping, or whether Tehran broadens its response against U.S. positions and regional partners. With the Strait of Hormuz under pressure and American troops already injured in Kuwait, the conflict has entered a phase where a miscalculation could pull much more of the Middle East into the fight.
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