BREAKING: Trump resumes airstrikes, says he's 'holding Iran accountable'

The United States has launched additional strikes against Iran “to further degrade their ability to threaten freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz,” U.S. Central Command shared in a post on X.

“At the direction of the Commander in Chief, U.S. Central Command forces have started conducting additional strikes against Iran to further degrade their ability to threaten freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz. The United States is holding Iran accountable for recent unjustified aggression against commercial shipping and civilian crews freely navigating a vital international waterway,” the post reads.

Several explosions were heard near the Iranian coastal cities of Bandar Abbas and Sirik, according to Iran’s semi-official Fars News Agency.

At around 11:15 p.m. local time, “the sound of several explosions was heard in Bandar Abbas and Sirik. The sound of some explosions was also heard coming from the sea in the area off the western coast of Sirik,” Fars reported.

Fars added air defenses were “engaging hostile targets” in the same regions.

The reports came after U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that the U.S. would “very probably hit” Iran tonight.

Before Trump left the NATO summit in Turkey and he issued the warning, Iran’s deputy foreign minister called him a “criminal,” with one official telling CNN his comments were “disgusting.”

According to CNN, at least 20 commercial vessels transited the Strait of Hormuz in the last 24 hours. Data from MarineTraffic showed that six tankers and five cargo ships entered the Persian Gulf as the U.S. and Iran continued airstrikes. The data also showed seven cargo ships and two tankers exiting into the Gulf of Oman.

The figures remain far below pre-war levels, when, on average, 110 vessels crossed the strait every day.