A rapid cycle of reciprocal strikes between the United States and Iran this week has pushed a months-long fragile ceasefire to its most severe test in the two-month truce, drawing multiple Gulf nations directly into the spiraling escalation and stoking global fears of a wider regional conflict.
The outbreak of renewed hostilities traces back to the downing of a U.S. military helicopter near the Strait of Hormuz earlier this week. In response, Washington launched targeted strikes against Iranian military installations, with U.S. officials confirming the operations were designed to knock out Iranian surveillance networks, communications infrastructure and air defense systems that the U.S. says pose an ongoing threat to American troops and commercial shipping transiting key regional waterways.
U.S. Central Command announced the first wave of coordinated strikes wrapped up after launching at 5:15 p.m. Washington time on Wednesday, which fell in the early hours of Thursday local time in Iran. The operation drew on joint assets from the U.S. Marine Corps, Air Force and Navy, which deployed precision-guided munitions against targets spanning multiple Iranian locations. Iranian state media reported loud explosions across multiple provinces, including coastal areas near the Strait of Hormuz — Bandar Abbas, Qeshm Island and Minab — as well as sites in Karaj, Nazarabad and Pishva close to the Iranian capital of Tehran. Local reports confirmed at least three people suffered injuries in Tehran province.
The strikes came after U.S. President Donald Trump publicly accused Iran of deliberately dragging out ceasefire negotiations to end the three-month conflict. Speaking Wednesday, Trump claimed Tehran had been “playing us for suckers” and warned the Islamic Republic would “have to pay the price” for the delay. U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth further signaled that military pressure would remain on the table, noting that if directed by the president, Washington would continue to “negotiate with bombs.”
On Thursday, Iran’s foreign ministry issued a formal condemnation of the U.S. attacks, stating the strikes had rendered the nearly two-month-old ceasefire “practically meaningless” and held Washington fully accountable for any “extremely serious consequences” that stem from the escalation.
In line with its promise of retaliation, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Iran’s elite military force, announced it had launched counterstrikes against U.S.-affiliated military targets in three regional states: Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan. Iranian state media reported the retaliatory operation used both drones and ballistic missiles, striking facilities including the headquarters of the U.S. Fifth Fleet based in Bahrain, air bases in Kuwait, and the al-Azraq airbase in northern Jordan.
Bahrain triggered an air raid alert Wednesday after Iranian reports confirmed the U.S. base in the country had been targeted, with the interior ministry urging residents to stay calm and move to designated safe shelters. In Kuwait, authorities ordered a temporary closure of the country’s airspace early Thursday and diverted all incoming commercial flights over risks to civil aviation posed by the Iranian strikes. Kuwaiti military confirmed its air defense systems were actively engaging “hostile aerial targets,” before later announcing commercial air traffic had resumed normal operations. Jordan’s military confirmed Thursday that its integrated air defense systems and combat aircraft intercepted 20 missiles launched from Iran that were headed toward the Azraq area in Zarqa governorate, roughly 80 kilometers east of the capital Amman. The military added that falling missile debris caused no casualties or material damage, despite the large-scale attack. The IRGC has claimed its 12 ballistic missiles scored direct hits on al-Azraq airbase and its command center, destroying key facilities and aircraft on the tarmac. The IRGC’s claims have not yet been independently verified by third-party observers.
The escalating confrontation has also spread to the Sea of Oman, one of the world’s most critical chokepoints for global energy trade. According to Iran’s Mehr News Agency, the Iranian governor of Sirik county confirmed a U.S. projectile struck an Iranian cargo barge in the Gulf of Oman early Thursday. This attack marks one of multiple strikes on vessels with Indian crew members carried out by U.S. forces this week. The 150-tonne barge, owned by local Sirik residents and carrying essential consumer goods from the Omani port of Khasab, was hit roughly five nautical miles off the Khasab coast. All five crew members were rescued by passing commercial vessels and brought to Omani shores for care, the official added.
This week alone, U.S. forces have disabled three commercial tankers transiting the vital waterway as part of enforcement of a blockade on Iranian ports, a campaign that has left three seafarers dead. Indian national newspaper The Hindu confirmed Tuesday that two Indian crew members were killed and a third remains missing after a U.S. attack on the Palau-flagged oil tanker Settebello off the Omani coast.
Iranian media reported Thursday that the Iranian navy had also struck two vessels attempting to transit the Strait of Hormuz. U.S. Central Command has rejected claims that commercial shipping through the strait has been halted, confirming that commercial vessels continue to move in and out of the waterway without widespread disruption.
Global energy markets reacted immediately to the escalation, with oil prices climbing higher Thursday as traders priced in the risk of prolonged disruption to energy shipments. Major Gulf stock markets also pulled back, reflecting broad investor concern that the confrontation could expand far beyond direct U.S.-Iran exchanges.
Speaking to Fox News, Trump claimed U.S. forces launched 49 Tomahawk cruise missiles in the latest strikes, and added that Iranian leadership reached out to him directly mid-bombing to request an end to the operations. The IRGC has flatly denied the claim, dismissing it as a propaganda effort to cover up Washington’s failing position in the three-month conflict.
Despite the sharp military escalation, diplomatic channels have remained active to de-escalate the crisis. Qatari negotiators traveled to Tehran Wednesday after holding consultations with U.S. officials in Washington, in a last-ditch effort to bridge the remaining policy gaps between the two sides. The Qatari delegation departed Tehran Thursday after concluding their talks.
United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres has issued an urgent warning against a return to full-scale open war between the two countries. Iran’s UN ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani emphasized that no sustainable long-term agreement can be reached through threats or the use of military force.
The latest exchange of strikes comes after weeks of stalled negotiations over a permanent deal to end the conflict, which first erupted in February when the U.S. and Israel launched joint strikes against Iranian targets. Tehran has repeatedly insisted that any final peace settlement must include a binding ceasefire in Lebanon, where Israeli forces have continued to bombard civilian areas. The ongoing Lebanese campaign has killed 3,696 people since March, while Hezbollah has continued its cross-border strikes targeting Israeli military positions.