DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – Iran said Thursday it launched missile and drone attacks against U.S. military targets in several Gulf countries in retaliation for fresh American airstrikes on Iranian territory, marking a sharp escalation in hostilities that has further strained a fragile ceasefire between the two countries.
According to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the attacks targeted U.S. military infrastructure in Kuwait, Qatar, and Bahrain, including Patriot air defense systems, satellite communications facilities, and fuel depots supporting American operations. Iranian officials described the strikes as a direct response to overnight U.S. attacks on military sites in Iran’s southern coastal and eastern provinces.
Authorities in Kuwait said their air defense systems intercepted several incoming missiles and drones, while Jordan reported shooting down projectiles that crossed its airspace. Initial reports indicated limited casualties and damage outside the intended military installations.
The latest exchange of attacks has cast fresh doubt on a ceasefire agreement brokered about three weeks ago to halt the conflict between Washington and Tehran. Despite the truce, military action resumed after the United States carried out another round of strikes, saying the operations were intended to protect international shipping in and around the Strait of Hormuz following Iranian attacks on commercial vessels.
U.S. President Donald Trump warned Iran against further attacks on shipping and signaled that additional military action could follow if hostilities continue. Iran, meanwhile, has maintained that it will determine the conditions under which maritime traffic can safely resume through the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most important oil transit routes.
Amid the renewed fighting, Iran was also preparing funeral ceremonies for its slain Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, whose death in a U.S. airstrike earlier this year triggered the current war. His burial in the holy city of Mashhad was expected to draw large crowds under heightened security.
The Strait of Hormuz remains at the center of the crisis. Roughly one-fifth of the world’s seaborne oil passes through the narrow waterway, making any disruption a major concern for global energy markets and international trade. Renewed military operations have fueled fears of higher oil prices and a broader regional conflict involving Gulf states that host U.S. military forces.
Regional governments have urged restraint as concerns grow that the conflict could spread beyond Iran and the United States. Qatar reiterated its support for diplomacy, while other Gulf nations have remained on high alert amid continuing missile and drone threats.
The United States and Iran have both indicated they do not seek a full-scale regional war. However, the latest exchange of attacks has significantly increased tensions and raised uncertainty over whether diplomatic efforts can restore the ceasefire in the coming days.
Edgardo Hernal started college at UP Diliman and received his BA in Economics from San Sebastian College, Manila, and Masters in Information Systems Management from Keller Graduate School of Management of DeVry University in Oak Brook, IL. He has 25 years of copy editing and management experience at Thomson West, a subsidiary of Thomson Reuters.
- EDGARDO HERNAL
- EDGARDO HERNAL
- EDGARDO HERNAL
- EDGARDO HERNAL
