Morning Note

The U.S. military and Iran launched more missile and drone strikes Tuesday, with the U.S. reportedly hitting civilian targets in southern Iranian coastal areas. 

Local officials say one U.S. strike hit a home hosting a wedding, killing two people and wounding dozens, The Associated Press reported. Iranian state media alleged that the U.S. hit several other civilian sites, including an airport, a fishmeal factory and a fishing pier, according to The AP. 

“We’re aware of the reports, which originated from Iranian state media,” a spokesman for U.S. Central Command said in a statement. “The U.S. military never targets civilians, unlike the IRGC.”

President Trump described Tuesday’s strikes as “large and powerful,” and once again threatened Iran with further escalation. 

“If the failed Nation of Iran retaliates for this very justified attack, they will be hit again at a much harder and higher level, but it will not 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!” he wrote on Truth Social.

Overnight, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and its central military command said they targeted key U.S. and Gulf state installations across the region, including the vital U.S. Naval Base in Bahrain, Ali Al Salem in Kuwait, sprawling bases in Erbil in northern Iraq, as well as the Al Minhad and Al Dhafra bases located in the United Arab Emirates.

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