U.S.–Iran War Escalation

U.S.–Iran War Escalation

The conflict between the U.S./Israel and Iran has entered a sustained bombing campaign, with the U.S. military carrying out its 11th consecutive night of strikes as of Wednesday, the latest wave lasting about 75 minutes. Iran has continued retaliating: its army says it targeted U.S. military facilities in Kuwait, Jordan, and Bahrain with drones, striking accommodation buildings and equipment storage at Al Azraq air base in Jordan and equipment warehouses at Sheikh Isa Air Base in Bahrain using Arash suicide drones.

The most significant new development is Trump's threat to bomb "Pickaxe Mountain" — a heavily fortified underground facility near Iran's Natanz nuclear complex, believed to house centrifuges Iran moved there for protection. Trump told reporters the U.S. would hit the site "very heavily... pretty soon," while acknowledging there's no hard confirmation of nuclear material there, only that Iran "may have" stored centrifuges. 

Satellite imagery reportedly shows Iran reinforcing tunnel entrances against potential airstrikes. Experts are divided on whether U.S. bunker-buster munitions can actually penetrate rock as deep as 100 meters.

U.S. officials describe Trump as facing a fork in the road: pursue a 10-day ceasefire to reopen the Strait of Hormuz (backed by Qatar, Egypt, and Pakistan as mediators), or launch an intensified joint campaign with Israel aimed at forcing Tehran's capitulation. Trump has signaled he's leaning toward the latter, showing no interest in restarting negotiations. Nearly 100 U.S. service members have been injured in the conflict over the past two weeks, though most returned to duty. 

Trump is also set to attend a dignified transfer ceremony for U.S. service members killed in the Middle East, and Defense Secretary Hegseth is requesting billions in additional funding from Congress to cover the war's rising costs — underscoring how the conflict is now reshaping U.S. defense budgeting as well as foreign policy.