US Launches Fresh Defensive Strikes Against Iran

The U.S. military launched defensive strikes against Iran, targeting drones that posed a threat to the Strait of Hormuz. Iran reportedly targeted a U.S. base in retaliation. The U.S. military intercepted four Iranian kamikaze drones targeting American and commercial merchant ships overnight and responded by destroying an Iranian ground control station in the port city of Bandar Abbas.

Wipe out the regime. Nothing short of that.

Wall Street Journal: President Trump said Iran was miscalculating if it thought he would soften his position to avoid a prolonged standoff with Tehran. “They thought they were going to outwait me,” Trump said Wednesday at the start of a cabinet meeting at the White House. “He’s got the midterms [they thought]. I don’t care about the midterms….” Trump rejected the idea of allowing Iran to turn over its stockpile of enriched uranium to either China or Russia. “No,” he replied when asked about the possibility. “That would not make me comfortable.” More than 11 tons of uranium enriched at levels up to 20% was shipped to Russia as part of the now-defunct 2015 nuclear deal that lifted punishing economic sanctions against Iran. While the president struck an optimistic note during the cabinet meeting, saying that the Iranians were beginning to come around at the negotiation table, he again held out the possibility of additional military strikes. “If they won’t,” he said, pointing to Hegseth, “the man on my left is going to finish them off” (Wall Street Journal).

Secretary of War Hegseth: The man on his left agrees (Hegseth).

IT’S OFFICIAL: Iran has just been STRUCK by the US military, 4 Iranian drones were blown up and a military site was BOMBED before it could send off another one

The defensive strikes are “intended to MAINTAIN the ceasefire.”

Iran reported explosions in Bandar Abbas.

The… pic.twitter.com/DXAPqLBmwg

— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) May 28, 2026

IRAN IS ALREADY REBUILDING
Satellite images reportedly show Iran has cleared at least 50 access points at 18 missile sites since the ceasefire began, restoring access to underground launchers and weapons hit by U.S. and Israeli strikes. pic.twitter.com/G0fE8pmWpZ

— Mossad Commentary (@MOSSADil) May 28, 2026

Iran says it targeted US airbase in retaliation of latest strikes on Tehran after ‘threat around Strait of Hormuz’

By Victor Nava, NY Post, May 27, 2026:

The US military carried out new strikes in Iran Wednesday, targeting a military site that threatened American troops and commercial shipping traffic in the Strait of Hormuz.

“Today, US Central Command Forces shot down four Iranian one-way attack drones that posed a threat around the Strait of Hormuz,” a US official said in a statement.

“US forces also struck an Iranian ground control station in Bandar Abbas that was about to launch a fifth drone,” the official added.

In retaliation, Iranian forces claimed to have “targeted” a US airbase, according to state-run media.

The report did not indicate which US base was fired upon, but Kuwait’s military said its air defenses were “confronting hostile missile and drone attacks,” late Wednesday. There were no reports of damage or injuries.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) warned that any repeat of what they ⁠called aggression would draw a “more decisive” response.

The downed Iranian drones were reportedly targeting a US commercial ship in the Strait of Hormuz, according to Axios.

Tasnim News Agency – affiliated with the IRGC – reported that the Iranian Navy had fired a warning shot at an “American oil tanker,” according to CNN.

Iranian military sources told other state-run news outlets that “warning shots” were fired at four vessels in total that attempted to transit the strait without permission.

“These actions were measured, purely defensive, and intended to maintain the ceasefire,” the US official said.

There have been at least two dozen attacks in and around the Strait of Hormuz since the war with Iran began.

Tehran has effectively shut down the key oil chokepoint with repeated attacks and threats on cargo ships and tankers that tried to sail through.

The US strikes were first reported by Reuters.

Infrared imagery showing the M/T SEVDA cargo ship with smoke and flames rising from its deck.

The strikes follow “self-defense strikes” launched by the US military on Monday against Iranian boats that were reportedly laying mines in the Strait of Hormuz.

Those attacks also took out a surface-to-air missile site in Bandar Abbas.

The missile site based at Iran’s primary naval station was reportedly targeting US warplanes, according to CENTCOM.

Wednesday’s clash also come as US and Iranian negotiators work to finalize a memorandum of understanding that would reopen the key waterway to international shipping — without tolls — and allow additional time for an agreement on the fate of Iran’s highly enriched uranium stockpiles.