The United States launched another wave of strikes against Iranian military targets on Wednesday, prompting Tehran to declare that it is engaged in an "existential war" with America and to abandon commitments tied to a fragile memorandum of understanding reached in June.
The latest attacks followed days of escalating military action that have effectively derailed efforts to preserve the interim agreement between Washington and Tehran.
Iranian officials said seven members of the 388th Brigade were killed after a strike on a military barracks in Bampour, while additional explosions were reported in Bandar Abbas, Chabahar, Ahvaz and other southern locations as the United States announced successive rounds of air strikes.
The U.S. military said it targeted coastal defense systems, cruise missile storage sites and military positions near the Strait of Hormuz and on Greater Tunb Island, describing the strikes as efforts to counter threats to international shipping.
A second wave of attacks followed later in the day, while U.S. forces also continued enforcing a renewed naval blockade, redirecting commercial vessels and disabling another tanker after it ignored repeated warnings.
Iranian media reported strikes near several southern cities, while state television said an attack near a hospital in Ahvaz forced the temporary evacuation of patients.
Iran also accused the United States of striking a wheat storage facility, an allegation denied by the U.S. military.
Iran's top negotiator, Mohammed Bagher Ghalibaf, said the country's armed forces now have "complete freedom of action" against what he described as enemy aggression.
He said Iran was engaged in "an essential and existential war with America," while Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said Tehran had suspended its commitments under the memorandum because Washington had failed to uphold its own obligations.
Baghaei said Iran had no plans for further negotiations and was focused on national defense, though officials maintained that diplomacy could remain possible if the United States returned to its commitments.
Meanwhile, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it targeted U.S. military positions in Bahrain and a logistics facility in Kuwait.
Kuwait said it intercepted four cruise missiles and 21 drones without reporting casualties, while Jordan said it downed three Iranian missiles.
U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran "better behave," while also stating that Tehran wanted to reach a settlement as military operations and regional tensions continued to intensify.