WASHINGTON/TEHRAN/MUSCAT – US forces conducted strikes against Iran for a second straight day on Wednesday to "degrade" Iran's ability "to threaten freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz," the US Central Command said.

The US is "holding Iran accountable for recent unjustified aggression against commercial shipping and civilian crews freely navigating a vital international waterway," the command said in a post on X.

More than 20 US Navy warships were patrolling waters across the Middle East on Wednesday, the command said in an earlier post.

The move came after US President Donald Trump warned at the NATO summit in Ankara earlier the same day that the US military would probably hit Iran again.

"I'll give a little warning: We're going to hit them hard tonight," Trump said, adding that he did not expect a full-fledged conflict with Iran.

Following Trump's remarks at the summit, Iran's Press TV, citing an informed source, reported that Iran would close the Strait of Hormuz and strike twice as many targets given any fresh US attack.

Meanwhile, the Iranian Army announced Wednesday eight of its forces were killed in US strikes earlier in the day in the southern provinces of Hormozgan and Bushehr.

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In a statement on its website, the army identified those killed as Ali Moeini, Ali Mehdizadeh, Hamed Davvari, Amir-Hossein Qassemi, Alireza Zarei Sani, Alireza Balideh, Shahab Omidi and Mohammad Javad Ravanfar, vowing to avenge "the country's martyrs."

Earlier on Wednesday, state-run IRIB news agency reported a serviceman of the Navy of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) was killed in the US strikes in the port city of Bandar-e Mahshahr, southwestern Iran's Khuzestan province.

Tehran slams US attacks

Also on Wednesday, Iranian Foreign Ministry condemned US "aggressive" attacks, calling them a flagrant violation of the UN Charter and a recently signed peace memorandum of understanding (MoU).

Recurring US attacks, along with a Tuesday decision by the US Treasury to revoke a license for Iranian oil sales until Aug 21, disruption of Iranian arrangements in the Strait of Hormuz, and Israeli "military aggression" against Lebanon, have rendered "important and fundamental" parts of the MoU ineffective, it said in a statement.

It warned that Iran's armed forces will not hesitate to target the source and origin of US "military aggression".

Iran 'could pull out of NPT'

A senior Iranian lawmaker said on Wednesday if the US attacks Iran again, the country's options will include withdrawing from the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and changing its nuclear doctrine.

Ebrahim Rezaei, spokesman of the Iranian parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, made the remarks in an interview with the semi-official Fars news agency.

"If the United States attacks our country again, we will respond with all our might and are ready to give a decisive and powerful response to the Americans," Rezaei said.

"In the future confrontation, the enemy will face an all-out and surprise offensive from Iran that will not be limited solely to the military field," he said, stressing that Iran will employ all its capacities and capabilities in the "the axis of resistance," and crush the US assets and forces in the region while focusing concurrently on other strategic options.

He noted that closing the Bab el-Mandeb Strait in addition to the Strait of Hormuz is one of the options, adding that the other one is withdrawing from the NPT, which will probably be placed on the agenda, and the parliament is ready to discuss the plan.

Omani, Saudi foreign ministers meet on Hormuz security 

Omani Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr bin Hamad Al Busaidi met on Wednesday with his Saudi counterpart, Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, to discuss maritime security in the Strait of Hormuz.

The two ministers exchanged views on regional developments related to navigation through the Strait of Hormuz and underscored the strategic importance of the waterway to global trade and energy, according to a statement issued by Oman's Foreign Ministry.

They urged diplomatic solutions to ease regional tensions and safeguard the safety and freedom of maritime navigation, the statement read.

The ministers also reviewed bilateral ties and reaffirmed the importance of sustained coordination.