Iran launched attacks on Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar, which are home to US military bases, on Thursday after American forces launched a second round of strikes on the Islamic republic, in an escalation that threatens to derail efforts to end the war.
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it carried out missile and drone strikes against US military bases in Bahrain and Kuwait, describing the attacks as the first phase of a “punitive response” to American military action.
Iran's army said it had launched drone attacks against US military sites in Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar.
It said it attacked a Patriot air defence system in Kuwait, a satellite and early-warning site in Qatar and fuel storage sites used by US forces in Bahrain.
The statement said the targets were struck by “a large number” of military drones and described the attacks as a continuation of Iranian operations against US bases in the region.
Kuwait's Defence Ministry said it intercepted three ballistic missiles, one cruise missile and 10 drones that entered the country's airspace early on Thursday.
The interceptions resulted in material damage after debris fell in several locations across the country, military spokesman Maj Gen Saud Al Otaibi said. One person was wounded and was receiving medical treatment, with their condition reported as stable.
Bahrain's armed forces said its systems “intercepted and destroyed several treacherous Iranian aerial attacks” on Thursday morning.
Qatar's Interior Ministry issued an alert, saying the “security level is high” and urging residents to stay at home. It did not report any attacks.
The US military said its strikes were in response to attacks on three cargo ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday. They came hours after President Donald Trump said he believed an interim ceasefire deal with Iran to be “over”, following the first round of US strikes on Tuesday night.
“US Central Command forces have started conducting additional strikes against Iran to further degrade their ability to threaten freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz,” said the US military's Central Command for the Middle East.
“The United States is holding Iran accountable for recent unjustified aggression against commercial shipping and civilian crews freely navigating a vital international waterway,” Centcom said on X.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry accused Washington of committing a “gross war crime” and violating the 60-day ceasefire agreement signed on June 17, and vowed that Iran would punish those responsible for aggression against the country.
Centcom said it hit 90 Iranian military targets in its latest strikes. It also reported the “successful execution” 80 strikes it had conducted the previous night.
The latest strikes rattled several cities along Iran's southern coast and left some areas without power. Iran's Health Ministry said at least 14 people were killed and dozens wounded.
The IRGC said the US also targeted two bridges on a railway route leading to the city of Mashhad in eastern Iran. Iran's late supreme leader Ali Khamenei was due to be buried in Mashhad later on Thursday after a week-long funeral procession. He was killed in US-Israeli strikes at the start of the war on February 28.
Iran's railway authority said train services between Tehran and Mashhad were suspended after part of the line was damaged in the US strikes.
Iranian state media, quoting the railway authority, said reconstruction efforts were under way to repair the route “as soon as possible”.
The IRGC said one person was killed in the southern city of Iranshahr during the US attacks, in a statement published on the affiliated Sepah News Telegram channel. A flight centre and meteorological station at Iranshahr airport were hit, Sepah reported, citing the city's governor.
Mr Trump downplayed the prospect of a return to a full-scale war. Speaking to reporters on board Air Force One, he said Iran had “called” wanting to “make a deal”.
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf warned the US against further escalation.
“America has still not learnt that bullying and breaking promises are no longer cost-free. To be clear: if you strike, you'll get hit,” Mr Ghalibaf wrote on X.
He added that the Strait of Hormuz “will only be open under Iranian arrangements, not American threats” and warned Washington not to “struggle in vain, because you will only sink deeper”.
Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman on Thursday discussed the latest escalation between the US and Iran during a phone call with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.
The pair reviewed developments after two days of military exchanges between Tehran and Washington, the Qatari Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Sheikh Mohammed, who is also Foreign Minister, condemned attacks against commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, saying such actions were taking place despite efforts to de-escalate tensions in the region.
He said attacks on shipping undermined confidence, threatened international navigation and harmed efforts to strengthen regional security and stability.
