Strait of Hormuz Crisis Deepens: US Bombs Iran, Kuwait Under Attack, Israel Escalates War in Lebanon

New clashes between the United States and Iran have further strained already fragile negotiations aimed at ending the nearly three-month war, while Israel sharply escalated its military campaign in southern Lebanon with expanded strikes and mass evacuation orders.

The latest tensions erupted overnight after the United States carried out what American officials described as “defensive” strikes inside Iran. According to US officials speaking anonymously, American forces shot down four Iranian one-way attack drones near the Strait of Hormuz and struck a ground control station near Bandar Abbas that was allegedly preparing to launch another drone.

One US official told Reuters the operation was “measured, purely defensive, and intended to maintain the ceasefire.” The strikes marked the second direct US military action against Iran within a week.

Iranian media later confirmed explosions near Bandar Abbas but claimed there had been no casualties or serious damage. Tehran responded within hours. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards announced that they had targeted what they described as an American airbase used in the earlier attack. While the Guards did not specify the location of the base, Kuwait shortly afterward confirmed that its air defenses were intercepting incoming missile and drone threats.

Kuwait’s military said warning sirens had sounded across the country as its defense systems engaged “hostile missile and drone attacks.” The army added that residents should follow security instructions issued by authorities.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps warned that any further American attacks would face a “more decisive” response and insisted responsibility for any escalation lay with the “aggressor.”

At the same time, tensions intensified around the Strait of Hormuz, where Iran claimed its forces had confronted several vessels attempting to pass through the waterway without authorization. Iranian state broadcaster IRIB reported that four ships ignored warnings from Iranian security forces shortly after midnight local time.

“They were warned, but after they ignored the warning, warning shots were fired at them, forcing them to return,” IRIB stated, without identifying the ships involved.

Separate reports from shipping monitors LSEG and Kpler showed that two supertankers and one LNG tanker recently exited the Strait of Hormuz with their transponders switched off while heading toward India and China. One of the vessels, the VLCC Eagle Veracruz, was reportedly transporting two million barrels of Saudi crude oil to China’s Fujian province.

Shipping through the strategic waterway remains heavily disrupted. Before the conflict erupted in late February, roughly 125 to 140 vessels crossed the strait daily. Now traffic remains sharply reduced, while an estimated 20,000 seafarers remain stranded aboard ships anchored in the Gulf.

Oil markets reacted immediately to the renewed violence. Brent crude rose nearly 2 percent to above per barrel, while US benchmark WTI climbed past . Analysts linked the increase to fears that continued instability around the Strait of Hormuz could further disrupt global energy supplies. The waterway normally handles roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil and gas shipments.

The Trump administration simultaneously increased economic pressure on Tehran. Washington imposed new sanctions targeting Iran’s recently created Persian Gulf Strait Authority, an organization established to collect transit fees from ships crossing Hormuz.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the new measures demonstrated that Tehran was “desperate for cash” after months of American economic pressure. US officials also warned companies and ship operators that paying such fees could expose them to sanctions for indirectly supporting Iran’s Revolutionary Guards.

President Donald Trump struck an increasingly aggressive tone during a televised White House cabinet meeting. Although he repeated claims that negotiations with Tehran were progressing, he warned that the United States was prepared to escalate further if Iran refused American conditions.

“Iran is very much intent, they want very much to make a deal. So far they haven’t gotten there. We’re not satisfied with it, but we will be,” Trump said. “Either that or we’ll have to just finish the job.”

Trump also rejected reports suggesting that Iran and Oman could jointly oversee shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz under a temporary arrangement. Iranian state television had earlier claimed it obtained a draft proposal under which maritime traffic would gradually return to prewar levels within a month.

The White House dismissed the report as “a complete fabrication.”

Asked about Oman’s possible role, Trump insisted the strait would remain open to all countries and added that “Oman will behave just like everybody else or we’ll have to blow them up.” The White House later declined to clarify whether the president had misspoken.

Trump also indicated that any broader agreement with Iran could become linked to efforts to expand the Abraham Accords between Israel and Arab states. He suggested the United States might refuse a deal if regional normalization efforts stalled.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, seated beside Trump during the cabinet meeting, said there had been “some progress and some interest” in negotiations, though he cautioned that the coming days would determine whether a breakthrough remained possible.

One of the key unresolved issues is whether a ceasefire between Washington and Tehran would also cover Israel’s military campaign against Hezbollah in Lebanon. Iran has repeatedly insisted that Lebanon must be included in any settlement.

Meanwhile, Israel significantly intensified its operations in southern Lebanon. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that the military was “deepening its operation” against Hezbollah as Israeli troops pushed farther north beyond previously established combat lines.

The Israeli military declared all territory south of the Zahrani River a combat zone and ordered civilians to evacuate northward. The warnings included the ancient coastal city of Tyre, one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world and home to nearly 60,000 residents.

The Israel Defense Forces stated that Hezbollah infrastructure was being targeted throughout the area. “The IDF is compelled to take forceful action against it,” the military said in its evacuation notice.

Shortly afterward, Israeli forces launched heavy strikes on Tyre and surrounding areas. Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported that at least one building was hit and fires erupted in parts of the city.

Tyre, a UNESCO World Heritage site known for its Roman ruins and Mediterranean coastline, has repeatedly been targeted during previous Israeli-Hezbollah conflicts. The city also contains environmentally protected coastal wetlands recognized internationally for their biodiversity.

Hezbollah said its fighters were engaged in “point-blank range” battles with Israeli troops near strategic positions in southern Lebanon. Israel reported that it had struck more than 550 targets since the start of the week, representing a major escalation in operations.

More than 1.2 million Lebanese have now been displaced since Hezbollah entered the conflict in support of Iran on March 2. According to Lebanon’s health ministry, Israeli attacks have killed more than 3,200 people across southern Lebanon, eastern regions, and Beirut.

The World Health Organization stated that at least 608 people have died in Israeli attacks since a US-brokered ceasefire was announced on April 16, a truce that now appears close to collapse.

The Israeli military also reported that 10 Israeli soldiers have been killed since the ceasefire began, including six deaths caused by Hezbollah explosive drones. On Thursday, the army announced that a 20-year-old female sergeant from the Givati Brigade had been killed during operations in northern Israel, while two reservists were wounded in the same incident.

Additional tensions emerged along Israel’s northern frontier after the military intercepted what it described as a “suspicious aerial target” over southern Lebanon near areas where Israeli troops are operating.

As fighting intensifies across both Iran and Lebanon, aid organizations are warning of what they describe as an “absolute catastrophe” unfolding in southern Lebanon amid expanding Israeli bombardments and large-scale displacement.