The US and Iran are increasing their attacks against each other

The US conducted a fresh wave of strikes on Iranian military targets near the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday as the two countries’ standoff over control over the critical waterway deepens.

During three nights of strikes over five days, the US has struck more than 300 targets, according to the US military’s Central Command. The burst of fighting raised new questions about efforts to reach a permanent end to a war that began on February 28th.

The strait, a key transit route for oil and natural gas, has become the key sticking point in negotiations, and repeated fighting over the past week has left negotiations in danger of collapse.

The US military’s Central Command said it hit 140 targets in Sunday’s strikes and went after missile and drone launch sites, ammunition dumps, communication equipment and other sites. It said the attacks, heavier than previous attacks in recent days, would weaken Iran’s ability to threaten civilian shipping.

President Trump spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday, according to Netanyahu’s office and a White House official. The US and Israel have been closely coordinating in their war with Iran.

The US military also reiterated Thursday that Iran does not control the Strait of Hormuz. In a social media post, US Central Command said that since early May, US forces have helped more than 800 commercial vessels and 380 million barrels of crude oil transit the strait.

This comes after the US said Iran struck three commercial tankers in the strait earlier this week, reigniting fighting between the two sides amid what has been a shaky ceasefire.

“Iran made a poor choice. Now they pay,” US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth wrote online.