Iran has launched a fresh wave of attacks on US military bases in neighbouring Gulf countries, while the United States carried out another series of overnight strikes across Iranian territory as efforts to revive negotiations remain stalled.
Tehran said it targeted US military positions in Jordan, Kuwait and Bahrain, marking the sixth consecutive day of renewed hostilities that have placed the preliminary agreement aimed at ending the conflict under severe strain.
At the same time, the US military announced that it conducted a six-hour operation targeting multiple locations in Iran to “degrade Iran’s ability to threaten innocent mariners” in the Strait of Hormuz.
The latest escalation followed a warning from US President Donald Trump, who said Iran had “better behave” or risk facing additional military action if it refuses to return to the negotiating table.
Footage released by US Central Command showed strikes on Iranian positions overnight.
On Tuesday, Trump warned that Washington could target Iran’s energy infrastructure if Tehran continued to reject negotiations.
Iran’s chief negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, told state media that Tehran had “no reason” to honour any agreement that did not serve the country’s interests.
He added that Iran’s national security depended on maintaining what he described as “Iranian arrangements” in the Strait of Hormuz.
According to US Central Command (Centcom), the latest military operation struck command centres, air defence installations and coastal surveillance facilities across Iran, including sites in the port city of Bandar Abbas and Greater Tunb Island.
Iranian state media reported explosions in several locations, while air defence systems were activated in Tehran.
Soon after the strikes, several US allies in the Gulf reported coming under attack. Kuwait’s military said it intercepted drones, while Bahrain’s Interior Ministry urged residents to remain calm and move to the nearest safe location.
Iran’s military also claimed responsibility for attacks targeting US communication systems and fuel storage facilities in Jordan.
As the conflict continues, the Strait of Hormuz — the vital shipping route off Iran’s coast that Tehran effectively closed following US-Israeli strikes — remains shut to normal traffic.
On Tuesday, the United States announced it had reinstated a blockade on Iranian ports, reversing an earlier decision taken under the memorandum of understanding reached between both countries last month.
The following day, US forces fired on and disabled an unladen Curacao-flagged oil tanker that, according to Centcom, was attempting to sail towards a blockaded Iranian port.
Responding to the renewed US blockade, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps warned Washington to “expect the closure of other oil and gas export routes that serve the interests of the United States and its allies”.
The Guards did not specify which additional routes could be affected.
The continuing dispute over the Strait of Hormuz has contributed to another surge in global oil prices, as tanker traffic through the critical shipping corridor has slowed significantly.
Despite the ongoing conflict, Trump welcomed what he described as a positive gesture from Tehran after Iran released an American citizen he said had been “wrongfully detained” since December 2024.
“The United States of America appreciates this gesture of Goodwill by Iran!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on Wednesday.
The released American, Dena Karari, was travelling back to the United States, according to her lawyer, Jared Genser, in a post on X.
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