A senior U.S. defense official has explained why the American military keeps returning to bomb the same Iranian targets it has already struck repeatedly since the conflict began in late February, according to Fox News national security correspondent Jennifer Griffin.
In a post on social media, Griffin said she pressed the official on why the U.S. has had to go back and restrike sites that have been hit multiple times since February 28, when the war began. The answer, she reported, was that Iran has rebuilt its air defense and missile systems along the Strait of Hormuz in the months since the U.S. bombing campaign wound down on April 7.
That reconstitution, the source told Griffin, is why the military is now having to strike areas like Qeshm Island and Sirik that it had already targeted in the past.
"In the time since the cease fire on 7 April, Iran has reconstituted — thus the targets around the Strait of Hormuz," the official told Griffin.
The official acknowledged the scale of the damage already inflicted on Iranian positions while making clear that Tehran has adapted.
"There is a LOT that is damaged… a LOT… but they moved things around," the source said.
Griffin noted that roughly 10 weeks had passed since the April ceasefire was announced — a window during which, by the official's account, Iran was able to rebuild enough capability to draw fresh U.S. strikes.
The reporting offers a window into the cyclical nature of the campaign, in which previously degraded Iranian systems are repaired and repositioned, prompting renewed American attacks. The post was amplified by conservative commentator Erick Erickson.
I asked a senior defense official why the US has had to go back and restrike these sites that have been hit multiple times since February 28 when the war began. I was told Iran has reconstituted its air defense and missile systems along the Strait of Hormuz since the US bombing…
— Jennifer Griffin (@JenGriffinFNC) June 27, 2026