By JON GAMBRELL and SEUNG MIN KIM AP | Posted by TOE

 Iran targeted American military sites in the Gulf on Wednesday after the U.S. launched strikes on several places in Iran and reinstated sanctions on its oil sales. Washington said it was responding to Iranian attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran’s military said Wednesday it conducted retaliatory strikes against the United States, targeting dozens of U.S. assets in Bahrain and Kuwait, as the fight over control of the Strait of Hormuz threatened to escalate the war.In a statement carried by state-run Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, Iran’s Armed Forces said they had attacked 85 “key U.S. military installations” at Salman Port and the 5th Fleet, both in Bahrain, and Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait.The statement was followed by a second one announcing a “new wave” of missiles targeting U.S. bases in Bahrain. The extent of the damage, if any, was not immediately clear, but the Kuwait Army confirmed in a statement that its air defenses were confronting “hostile missile and drone attacks.”

The crossfire raised fears that the war in Iran could reignite — and U.S. President Donald Trump fueled those concerns by saying that the interim agreement to pause fighting was “over,” although he added that he would allow negotiations to continue.

Attacks have repeatedly threatened the shaky ceasefire, but Trump’s comments add new uncertainty, and oil prices shot up after he spoke. A renewed conflict could engulf the wider Middle East and would likely again halt energy shipments through the strait that are crucial to the global economy.

“For me, I think it’s over,” Trump responded when asked about the status of the ceasefire. He added that U.S. representatives can continue negotiations, but he cast doubt on the outcome. “They can talk, but I think they’re wasting their time,” he said.

Negotiations to reach a final deal had been due to start after the dayslong funeral for Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed Feb. 28 in the war’s first moments. The funeral, which ends Thursday, was supposed to be a period of lower tensions.

The talks are meant to focus on the toughest matters, including fully reopening the strait and rolling back Tehran’s disputed nuclear program.

“The era of bullying and extortion is over,” Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf wrote on X. “It leads nowhere. We don’t fold.”

Overnight US strikes target Iran

The U.S. military’s Central Command said American forces launched strikes “to impose heavy costs for targeting and attacking commercial shipping crewed by innocent civilians in an international waterway.”

It said it hit Iranian targets including air defense systems, radars and over 60 small boats used by Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard.

Those boats have been key to threatening ships in the strait, through which a fifth of the world’s traded oil and natural gas passed before the war. Iran’s ability to bring shipping in the waterway to a near halt during the war proved its greatest strategic advantage as rising prices for energy supplies, fertilizer and food put pressure on the U.S. to make a deal. On Wednesday, the price of Brent crude, the international standard, spiked over 5% after Trump’s comments.