U.S. concludes another night of Iran strikes amid battle over Strait of Hormuz

Updated on: July 16, 2026 / 10:13 PM EDT / CBS News The U.S. completed another round of strikes on Iran early Friday morning local time, U.S. Central Command said in a statement. This marked the sixth straight night of U.S. strikes on Iran since a fragile ceasefire between the two countries fell apart last week. Friday's strikes were conducted by fighter jets, aerial drones and warships that targeted "dozens of Iranian military targets such as coastal surveillance and air defense sites, military logistics infrastructure, and maritime capabilities," CENTCOM said. More than 50,000 U.S. military personnel are currently deployed across the Middle East, CENTCOM added.  Vice President JD Vance blasted a claim as "completely bogus" that alleged Iranian officials had sent Vance a private message during peace talks in Switzerland last month, warning him that President Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner and U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff were "abusing" the negotiations and trying to manipulate markets. "I never received a message like this," Vance wrote on social media Thursday. The allegation made by the X account "The Hormuz Letter" Wednesday claimed that Iranian officials wrote to Vance that Kushner and Witkoff were "more interested in exploiting insider knowledge to profit in financial markets than reaching a deal." Kushner and Witkoff have taken part in diplomacy talks with Iran on several occasions, going back to last year, and also brokered peace talks between Israel and the militant group Hamas during the war in Gaza. Vance led the peace talks that were held in Switzerland. Vance wrote Thursday that "Jared and Steve are trusted members of the president's team and very dear friends. No one has done more than the two of them to work towards peace and prosperity in the region. The idea they're trading on insider information is absurd." Deadly U.S. strikes early Friday morning local time hit an airport, a railway station and two bridges in Iran, killing three people, Iranian state media reported. A U.S. strike on two bridges in the Hormozgan province killed three people and wounded nine, state TV wrote on Telegram, updating an earlier toll. "Three explosions were heard around the airport and at least one American enemy projectile hit Iranshahr airport," in the southeast, state television agency IRIB said on Telegram. "A few minutes ago, the Bandar Abbas Railway Junction Station was targeted by the American enemy. According to this report, two Iranians were injured in the attack," the Mehr news agency said on Telegram. Another U.S. attack wounded one person in the western port city of Bushehr, Iranian state media posted on Telegram. U.S. Marines boarded a commercial vessel in the Gulf of Oman Thursday, U.S. Central Command reported. CENTCOM said on X that it boarded the M/T Wen Yao "to ensure full compliance" with the U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports that President Trump reinstituted earlier this week as fighting resumed between the two countri