The U.S. military completed its twelfth consecutive night of strikes against Iran on Wednesday, part of a campaign that's already killed thousands and displaced millions across the region since late February. U.S. Central Command said American forces targeted Iranian military sites including maritime capabilities, missile and drone storage facilities, coastal surveillance sites, and air defense assets in operations lasting five hours.
The strikes come as the conflict enters its first year, with no diplomatic resolution in sight. Reuters reported that the war began when the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on February 28 and Iran responded with its own strikes on Israel and Gulf states hosting U.S. bases. Since then, U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran and Israeli attacks on Lebanon have killed thousands and displaced millions, according to Reuters. U.S. troop deaths have risen to 18 in recent days.
Military Buildup and Escalation Risks
The United States is increasing available forces in the Middle East in preparation for possibly escalating the conflict with Iran, people familiar with the matter told The Wall Street Journal. President Donald Trump is considering expanding his attacks on Iran, and the added forces are intended to provide him with more military options, U.S. officials told the Journal. Fighter jets have been positioned across the Middle East and bomber aircraft are on high alert.
Israeli officials believe Trump is preparing to significantly escalate the American military campaign against Iran, according to two Israeli officials. They said an expanded U.S. campaign targeting Iranian strategic infrastructure and senior regime officials would likely prompt Tehran to retaliate directly against Israel, potentially widening a conflict that's already drawn in multiple countries and displaced civilian populations across the region.
Threats to Civilian Infrastructure
Earlier Wednesday, Trump threatened that the U.S. will strike Iranian bridges and power plants in retaliation for every time Iran fires on a ship in the Strait of Hormuz. "The US will bomb and destroy one bridge or power plant, including those located next to, or in, the capital city of Tehran," he said, "from this point forward, any time the Islamic Republic of Iran shoots at a ship in the Strait of Hormuz."
Reuters reported that the 1949 Geneva Conventions prohibit attacks on sites considered essential for civilians, and that international law experts in the United States said in April that such attacks may amount to war crimes after Trump's threats. Trump's threat that month to destroy Iran's entire civilization also drew wide condemnation.
Iran's joint military command warned that if Trump's threat were carried out, its forces would target regional oil, gas, electricity and economic facilities, state media said. The warning followed his threat to destroy Iran's bridges and power plants.
Regional Spillover
The broader regional context includes Yemen's Houthis, who have been targeting tankers in the Red Sea, adding another front to the conflict around Iran. U.S. Central Command said U.S. forces had targeted dozens of Iranian military sites on land in July while resuming a blockade against Iran at sea.
Why This Matters:
The threatened targeting of bridges and power plants in Tehran raises urgent questions about civilian protection in a conflict that's already displaced millions. The 1949 Geneva Conventions explicitly prohibit attacks on infrastructure essential for civilian survival — water, electricity, transportation networks that people depend on daily. International law experts have warned that such strikes may constitute war crimes, yet diplomatic efforts to contain the escalation remain absent from public view. As the U.S. positions additional forces across the Middle East and prepares for further operations, the human cost continues to mount: thousands dead, millions displaced, and civilian populations from Iran to Lebanon to Yemen caught in a widening regional war with no clear exit strategy. The gap between international humanitarian law and its enforcement has never been starker.