Iran launched new attacks on its Gulf neighbours on Thursday despite issuing a call for diplomacy after the US carried out another night of strikes across the country.
Kuwait and Bahrain, as well as Jordan farther in the Middle East, were attacked by Iran on the sixth day of intensified violence that has all but voided the interim agreement between the US and Iran to end the war.
The Kuwaiti military said its air defences were responding to drone threats. The general staff said explosions could be heard due to interceptions and urged people to follow safety instructions.
Bahrain said its troops intercepted Iranian missiles and drones launched at the kingdom. The military condemned what it said were attacks on civilians and private property. No casualties or damage were immediately reported.
The attacks came after the US military carried out a six-hour wave of strikes on parts of Iran. The latest onslaught aims to “degrade Iran's ability to threaten innocent mariners” in the Strait of Hormuz, US Central Command said.
The assault included a 90-minute bombing raid against coastal defence and cruise missile sites on Greater Tunb, a UAE island occupied by Tehran.
The US Central Command said the offensive ended at 5am Gulf time on Thursday, after troops struck Iranian command centres, air defence sites, missile and drone capabilities and coastal surveillance sites.
It said precision-guided munitions hit targets including Bandar Abbas, home to Iran’s main naval base overlooking the Strait of Hormuz.
US President Donald Trump warned Iran it had “better behave” or face further military action should it not return to negotiations after the latest exchanges. Mr Trump said on Wednesday that he would authorise attacks on Iranian power plants if Tehran did not return to peace talks by next week.
“I don’t like giving deadlines, but they pretty much know, they know the story … they better behave,” Mr Trump said when asked if Iran had a deadline before the attacks.
US Vice President JD Vance said some members of the Israeli government had tried to influence American public opinion to oppose a deal proposed by Washington to end the war with Tehran.
The comments made during an episode with podcast host Joe Rogan that aired on Wednesday echoed earlier criticism of Israeli government policy by Mr Vance.
Many consider him to be a possible future president amid a widening public rift between the US and Israel.
Mr Vance defended the agreement reached last month, aimed at reaching a final settlement to the war, which critics in the US and Israel have accused of failing to curb Iran's missile programme and providing no clear path to dismantling its enrichment sites.
“I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that there have been people within the Israeli government who are trying to actually shift us away from that policy because they want to continue the military campaign,” he said.
Iran’s lead negotiator, Parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, defended diplomatic efforts to end the war, pushing back against hardliners urging him to abandon the interim ceasefire and avenge the country’s slain supreme leader.
Negotiation “is not tantamount to compromise” and, alongside military strength, is “part of the strategy of resistance and the safeguarding of national interests,” Mr Ghalibaf said in remarks aired by state television.
“We must be able to create a synergy between the military and diplomatic approaches,” he said, adding that “to isolate and select one of these two methods as the sole solution is a strategic error”.
The comments appeared to address Iranian officials who have portrayed moderates such as Mr Ghalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi as “traitors” for agreeing to the ceasefire in June that they see as a trap designed to buy time for the US to resume a war Iran was winning.
Mr Ghalibaf did not mention anyone by name, referring instead to “questions being asked among the people and various groups” and urging unity among all Iranians.
In his TV interview, Mr Ghalibaf stopped short of saying Iran would abandon the deal but warned that “if Iran is not to benefit from the memorandum of understanding, we have no reason to adhere to such an agreement.”
