In defiance of President Donald Trump's warning that any retaliation would see Iran "hit much harder," Tehran attacked Jordan, Bahrain, and Kuwait on Tuesday after the US military launched more strikes on Iran.

For the first time in more than a month, the US and Iran exchanged airstrikes overnight and into Monday, raising the possibility of rekindling the destructive confrontation following weeks of comparatively quiet military relations. This led to the most recent round of tit-for-tat strikes.

Trump threatened to take more drastic military action against Iran if it retaliated against what he described as a "very justified attack" following the announcement of the new US strikes.

He said on Truth Social on Tuesday, "They will be hit again at a much harder and higher level, but it won't be the biggest attack of them all, that is waiting in the wings and, when it is over, there will be very little left of the Islamic Republic of Iran."

However, Iran claimed to be targeting US military assets and pledged a "crushing" reaction, launching ballistic missiles against Jordan and drones toward Bahrain and Kuwait.

Tehran said that at least four people, including a toddler, were killed when shrapnel from one of the US missiles struck a wedding celebration in the south of the nation. CNN has contacted US Central Command (CENTCOM) over Iran's allegation.

According to a CENTCOM post on X, the US strikes were a reaction to recent Iranian attacks "against commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and American troops deployed to the region."

Two tankers have been hit by projectiles since the US strikes on Sunday, according to the United Kingdom marine Trade Operations (UKMTO), a traffic monitoring organization, and the marine intelligence firm Marisks. The tiny canal is vital to the world's energy sources, and Iran and the US are engaged in a long-running conflict over it.

The strikes on Tuesday, according to CENTCOM, targeted "air defense sites, radar systems, maritime assets and facilities, mine laying capabilities, and communications sites" connected to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of Iran. More than six hours after the strikes started at 12 p.m. ET, CENTCOM declared them to be over.

Even though Trump had earlier hinted at plans to move away from a military assault and toward a policy centered on increasing economic pressure, the violence has escalated.

Following Iran's retaliation, Trump tweeted on Truth Social on Tuesday nite, "I'm not trying to force Iran to the bargaining table." "Now that we have nearly complete control over the Hormuz Strait and their economy is completely collapsing, I like our position much better."

Oil futures surged beyond $94 a barrel following the US announcement of the fresh strikes.

On Tuesday, what was the target?

Ten Iranian missiles were intercepted, according to Jordanian authorities, and three more fell in isolated areas far from populated areas. According to Jordan's military, no injuries were reported.

According to their respective authorities, Kuwait and Bahrain also turned on air defense systems to intercept Iranian drones. Additionally, Iran claimed to have attacked Erbil in Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region with a combination of missiles and drones.

Meanwhile, other areas throughout Iran were hit by the US attacks.

According to a regional official cited by the state-affiliated IRNA news agency, strikes on the central area of Khuzestan, which borders Iraq, resulted in seven fatalities.

Attacks occurred on the nearby Gulf of Oman port cities of Chabahar and Konarak, which are home to important military, commercial, and nautical infrastructure. According to state-affiliated media, explosions were also heard east of Bandar Abbas and in the vicinity of Qeshm Island, close to the Strait of Hormuz.

The strikes also affected a fishmeal factory on Qeshm Island in the strait and the small regional Jiroft Airport in southeast Iran, according to Iran's state-run Press TV.

Iran's semi-official Fars News Agency said that an explosion was heard in the southern Iranian county of Asaluyeh, a major gas and petrochemical hub on the Gulf coast.

On the wedding party, shrapnel falls

According to Press TV, shrapnel struck a structure holding a wedding party in the coastal town of Kouhestak in southern Iran's Sirik county, resulting in the deaths of many individuals, including a four-year-old kid, and the injuries of at least 68 others.

Heavy smoke can be seen hanging in the air above debris on the ground in video that Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency broadcast, claiming to depict the aftermath of a US strike. People may be heard yelling everyplace. CNN geolocated the photos to a Kouhestak home area.

According to video, a sizable communications tower in Kouhestak also sustained significant damage on Tuesday nite. The structure holding the wedding celebration was roughly 135 meters (442 ft) away from the tower.

According to the governor of the area, more than fifty of the injured were women and children, according to the state broadcaster IRIB.

Esmaeil Baqaei, the spokesperson for Iran's foreign ministry, denounced the attack as part of a "catalogue of atrocities" carried out by the US and denounced the "normalization of bombing" by the international community.

Iranian state media extensively covered the strike, which sparked fury on Iranian social media and led to the swift release of an animated movie in the style of Legos, which has been a staple of Iranian propaganda throughout the conflict.

The specifics of the purported strike have not been independently confirmed by CNN.

Kouhestak is only 37 kilometers (about 22 miles) from Minab, where, according to Iran, a US strike on an elementary school in February killed at least 168 students and 14 teachers.

The Strait of Hormuz will become a "worthless piece of water."

The US and Iran are engaged in an arm wrestling over the Strait of Hormuz, which the US maintains is international territory but Tehran claims the right to govern. This is when the battle has resumed.

Since the start of the war, the waterway has been a chokepoint for the world's energy supplies, but more oil has been passing through it in the last week.

According to the US, Iran was attempting to utilize rocket launchers to drop fresh sea mines into the strait, which is why it conducted its strikes on Sunday. In retaliation, Tehran opened fire on what it claimed were US military targets in the Middle East.

Trump slammed Iran's leadership and told Fox News on Tuesday that the US warned Gulf allies before its most recent strikes. The president stated, "I think an agreement with them isn't worth the paper it's written on," and went on to say, "They don't stop: They're crazy and they're stupid."

The US targeted radar equipment that Tehran attempted to modernize, Trump said Fox. He claimed, "They tried to rebuild their radar because they can't see anything." "We hit it after waiting until it was nearly finished."

Concerns regarding Iran's long-term hold on the strait have been consistently downplayed by the Trump administration.

In an interview with Larry Kudlow at a G20 summit on Tuesday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said, "In two years, the Strait of Hormuz will be like a worthless piece of water – the oil will be going on pipelines across land." He was alluding to Gulf states' intentions to construct infrastructure that entirely avoids the strait.

Bessent described his role as "making sure that they want to have a deal" and asserted that the Treasury Department's recent efforts to isolate Iran's economy from the outside world would ultimately compel the government to submit.

Bessent declared, "We are going to economically asphyxiate this regime." "The world is willing to turn this state into a pariah because they are sick of this rogue or pariah state."

He noted that the Treasury Department is expected to impose sanctions on two other institutions in the coming weeks, following its first targeting of a bank in Dubai due to its purported connections to Iran.