The US military has carried out fresh strikes on Iran following a drone attack on a Panama‑flagged tanker in the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday.
US Central Command (Centcom) said its forces hit multiple targets across Iran in direct response to “continued aggression” against commercial shipping, BBC reports.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), in a statement to state media, said it retaliated by launching missiles and drones at US infrastructure in Kuwait and Bahrain.
It warned that violating the ceasefire breached the agreement signed between the two nations and “will lead to a complete halt to the process.”
Centcom said, “Iran was given a chance to honor the ceasefire agreement but elected not to when its forces launched a one‑way attack drone that hit MT Kiku,” the Panama‑flagged vessel.
It added that US strikes targeted military equipment, communication systems, air defense sites and drone storage facilities.
The IRGC accused the US of attacking five coastal posts “under the pretext of the IRGC Navy confronting the offending ship.” It said that under the Memorandum of Understanding signed earlier this month, Iran has arrangements for controlling passage in the Strait of Hormuz and warned that violating ships will now be dealt with more forcefully.
“Any potential enemy aggression, under any pretext, even if the aggressions are against minor targets, as happened last night and tonight, will have a crushing response,” the statement read.
Shortly after the strikes were announced, US President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social that it was “very possible” Tehran would “never learn.”
He added, “There may come a point when we are no longer able to be reasonable and will be forced to militarily complete the job that we very successfully started. If that happens, the Islamic Republic of Iran will no longer exist!”
In the hours after the US strikes, Kuwait and Bahrain reported activating their air defense systems. “Kuwaiti air defenses are currently confronting hostile missile and drone attacks,” the Kuwaiti Armed Forces said in a statement on X, urging the public to follow security instructions.
Bahrain’s Ministry of Interior advised citizens to “remain calm and head to the nearest safe place.”
Centcom confirmed that commercial vessels continue to operate in the Strait of Hormuz.
Al Jazeera reports that Israel has bombed southern Lebanon, killing at least one person, a day after signing a framework agreement with the Lebanese government to end hostilities.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun asks Trump to help prevent Israeli violations, as Hezbollah rejects the agreement with Israel, describing it as “a surrender of sovereignty”.
