US ‘hitting targets in Iran’ as hostilities flare again after month of no action

President Donald Trump listens as a reporter asks a question in the Oval Office of the White House (Jacquelyn Martin/AP)

The US military says it is striking targets in Iran as hostilities flare again after a month without military action.

US Central Command said on Tuesday that the strikes “follow recent attempted attacks by the IRGC against commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and against American service members deployed to the region”.

On Sunday, the US military said it struck rocket launchers on Larak Island in the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran responded by launching missiles at US sites in Jordan, which were intercepted, while the United Arab Emirates said it stopped an Iranian drone over its waters.

US President Donald Trump acknowledged on Monday that more strikes might be necessary.

He asserted that the US and Israeli bombardment has left Iran “a failed nation”.

Mr Trump said that much of the country’s political leadership has been killed, Iran’s economy is staggered by surging inflation and its military is devastated.

“That doesn’t mean we won’t smack them,” Mr Trump told reporters.

“We’ll see what happens.”