US strikes Iran again as Tehran targets Gulf states, putting truce at risk

The United States launched fresh airstrikes across Iran, and Tehran answered with attacks on Gulf states hosting US forces. The exchange has strained the interim ceasefire and raised fresh doubts over planned peace talks.

In Short

• Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and Jordan activated defences as missiles and drones approached
• US Central Command said roughly 90 Iranian targets were struck overnight
• Iran reported 14 deaths and 78 injuries from two days' American attacks

The United States carried out fresh airstrikes across Iran early on Thursday, and Tehran responded by targeting US-allied countries in the Middle East, in a widening exchange that put a fragile interim deal at risk. The latest strikes and counterstrikes raised fears that efforts to end the war could break down.

The attacks were broader than earlier violations of the ceasefire. Sirens sounded at least three times in Bahrain, which hosts the US Navy's 5th Fleet headquarters, while missiles and drones were aimed at Kuwait and Qatar. Sirens also sounded in Jordan, where the US has troops and aircraft stationed.

The strikes came hours after US President Donald Trump said recent Iranian attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz signalled the end of the ceasefire. He warned that the conflict would escalate if such attacks continued. The exchange raised concerns that the region could slide back into a war involving several countries and disrupt energy shipments through the strait, a route vital to the global economy.

Iran's Health Ministry said two days of American airstrikes had killed at least 14 people and injured 78 others, most of them reported to be members of the armed forces. In Kuwait, the military said falling debris injured one person after it shot down three ballistic missiles, a cruise missile and 10 drones. Bahrain said it intercepted incoming fire, but did not give details. There was no immediate word of damage in Qatar.

The US military's Central Command said it struck around 90 targets across Iran and released black-and-white footage that appeared to show attacks on an airport runway and missile launchers. The US said the strikes were meant to "further degrade" Iran's ability "to threaten freedom of navigation" in the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world's traded oil and natural gas passed before the war began with US and Israeli attacks on February 28. During the conflict, attacks on ships and the threat of more attacks had nearly stopped traffic through the waterway, sending oil prices sharply higher and pushing up the cost of basic goods, including food, well beyond the region.

Iranian state media reported explosions in several places, including Bushehr, home to Iran's only nuclear power plant complex, and in southern port cities. In Khuzestan province, at least three people were killed on Thursday, state media said. In Iranshahr, officials said an airstrike killed a firefighter at an airport. Those deaths followed the reported deaths of at least nine members of Iran's armed forces in Wednesday's strikes. It was not clear when another reported death took place or who was killed.

For the first time since April, US strikes also appeared to hit Iranian bridges. State media reported a strike on a railway bridge in Golestan province, while the Revolutionary Guard said two bridges were attacked on the route to Mashhad, where officials planned to bury the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Thursday. Later in the day, the state-run IRNA news agency quoted local official Ehsan Jahanian as saying the US had struck near the Bushehr nuclear power plant around noon, hours after Central Command said its strikes had ended. Central Command did not immediately respond. During the war, several strikes had hit the area around the plant, which is run by Russian technicians, but the plant itself was not damaged.

After leaving a NATO summit in Turkiye, Trump posted videos on social media that he said showed explosions in Iran and wrote: "This is in retribution for yesterday's bombing of ships by Iran. If it happens again, it will get much worse!" Earlier in the day, he said the latest fighting would not lead to "long-term" military action, adding, "Anything that happens is going to happen very fast." He also repeated earlier threats to hit Iran's civilian infrastructure, including electricity and desalination plants, and to seize Kharg Island, through which about 90 per cent of Iranian oil exports pass.

The latest round of fighting followed Iran's attack on three tankers in the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday. The renewed attacks despite the ceasefire could point to divisions within Iran's leadership. Hard-liners want to keep firm control over the waterway, a key route for fuel shipments and an important pressure point in its confrontation with the West. Pragmatists want a permanent peace agreement that could ease sanctions and bring economic relief. Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who is involved in talks on a permanent end to the war, wrote on X: "America still hasn't learned that bullying and breaking promises are no longer cost-free. Let me put it plainly: If you strike, you'll get hit."

Trump added to worries about the war restarting when he said on Wednesday that the interim agreement to pause the fighting was "over", though he said negotiations could continue. "They can talk, but I think they're wasting their time," he said. Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi replied on X that Trump's remarks "are not a sign of power but an admission of the failure" of US policy towards Iran. Talks on a final deal were due to begin after Khamenei's funeral, which ends on Thursday and had been expected to be a period of lower tensions. The negotiations are meant to focus on the hardest issues, including fully reopening the strait and rolling back Tehran's disputed nuclear programme.

The latest exchange left the ceasefire under fresh strain, with new US strikes, Iranian retaliation and sharp warnings from both sides casting doubt on whether the planned talks can still move the conflict towards a lasting settlement.

With PTI Inputs

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