The conflict between the United States and Iran has intensified after both countries launched fresh attacks across the Gulf region, raising fears of a wider military confrontation in the Middle East.
Iran announced that it had carried out drone strikes targeting US military facilities and bases across the region, describing the operation as retaliation for what it called the 13th consecutive night of American attacks on its territory.
Explosions were reported along Iran’s Gulf coastline, as well as in western, northern and central parts of the country. According to Iranian state media, an attack in the south-west killed four people and injured five others.
Iran later confirmed that it had also launched strikes targeting US-allied Kuwait. Air raid sirens were activated in Bahrain and Jordan, while flights were temporarily suspended at a major airport in Iraq following reports of a drone crash.
The latest developments came as Tehran strongly criticised a US proposal to use frozen Iranian assets to compensate for damages caused during the ongoing conflict, signalling another point of tension between both countries.
On Thursday, US President Donald Trump announced that compensation for damage to ships and cargo in the Strait of Hormuz would come from “Iranian Money that the United States has in its possession, and controls”.
“These damages may be very substantial but, nevertheless, this is the fair and equitable thing to do,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi condemned the proposal, warning that confiscating another country’s assets to “pay for unrelated future claims is an incendiary precedent”.
“Ensuing chaos will not be pretty or peaceful,” he added.
Earlier in June, Washington and Tehran had agreed to a 14-point Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aimed at halting military operations, reopening the Strait of Hormuz and working towards ending the conflict within 60 days.
However, the agreement collapsed just weeks later after Trump declared the ceasefire “over”, following renewed Iranian attacks on vessels passing through the strategic waterway and subsequent US retaliatory strikes.
One of the key provisions in the agreement, Point 11, stated that the “United States of America undertakes to make fully available for use the frozen or restricted funds and assets of the Islamic Republic of Iran”.
As the United States seeks to restore security in the Strait of Hormuz, concerns have also grown over renewed threats to commercial shipping in the Red Sea from Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi movement.
The worsening security situation has contributed to another surge in global oil prices, with crude climbing above $100 per barrel for the first time since May.
Trump also warned of “major military punishment” for Iran over Houthi attacks, later telling Axios that he was considering restarting large-scale military operations against Tehran and launching strikes “bigger than ever before”.
Relations between Washington and Tehran have steadily deteriorated since the beginning of July, with both sides exchanging repeated military actions.
On Thursday night, the US military confirmed that it had launched another round of strikes aimed at reducing Iran’s ability to threaten civilian shipping in regional waters.
According to US Central Command (Centcom), the operation targeted “Iranian military command centers, drone storage facilities, communication networks, coastal surveillance sites and maritime capabilities”.
Iran’s military responded by claiming responsibility for attacks on US bases in Kuwait.
Meanwhile, Bahrain’s Interior Ministry confirmed that emergency air raid sirens had been activated, while Iranian state media also reported that warning alarms were sounded in Jordan.
Reuters and AFP also reported that a drone crashed near Iraq’s Erbil International Airport, temporarily disrupting flight operations before services later resumed.
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