Tensions flared in the Gulf on Thursday as Iran’s military forces launched an offensive targeting U.S. military infrastructure situated in neighboring Gulf states. This move came in the wake of American strikes on Iran’s southern coastal and eastern regions, further jeopardizing an already fragile ceasefire agreement that has been in place for three weeks.
On the same day, Iran was preparing for the burial of its Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at Mashhad, the country’s most sacred site. The solemn event marked the end of a week filled with mass funerals and public demonstrations. Khamenei was killed during a U.S. airstrike on February 28, which had ignited the current conflict.
The U.S. military’s recent operations targeted Iran in a bid to secure the Strait of Hormuz, after Iran posed a threat by targeting three commercial tankers in the strategic waterway. This was part of the U.S.’s wider strategy to maintain open sea channels vital for international trade and energy supplies.
This escalated assault came just after U.S. President Donald Trump announced that he regarded the ceasefire with Iran as “over,” while hinting at the possibility of further negotiations.
According to state media reports, Iranian officials stated that U.S. attacks resulted in the deaths of 14 individuals and injured 78 more across five provinces on the dates of July 8 and 9. Among the targeted infrastructures was a rail bridge crucial for trade with Russia and China, as reported by the Fars news agency.
Several explosions were heard on Thursday morning in Iran’s Bushehr province, the semi-official Mehr news agency reported. Bushehr is home to a Russian-built nuclear power plant.
US military sites in Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain targeted
Iran’s army said in a statement released by state media that it had targeted US Patriot systems with drones in Kuwait, an early warning site in Qatar (satellite antenna) and a fuel storage facility of the US army in Bahrain.
Kuwait said its armed forces had engaged with a cruise missile, three ballistic missiles and 10 drones in its airspace, and that one person had been injured from falling shrapnel.
Qatar, which hosts the largest US military base in the region and has often mediated between Washington and its adversaries, including Tehran, called for a return to diplomacy.
In a phone call with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Aragchi, Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani also condemned attacks targeting commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
While Iran has not claimed responsibility for the ship attacks, analysts say Tehran uses such actions to gain leverage in negotiations.
The Strait of Hormuz handled about a fifth of global oil supplies before the war erupted on 28 February with US and Israeli strikes against Iran.
Tehran has since taken effective control of the strait, allowing it to force a stalemate in its confrontation with the world’s most powerful military.
“The US has yet to learn that bullying and breaking its commitments no longer come without a cost. Let me be clear: If you strike, you will be struck back,” Iran’s top negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, wrote on X.
“The Strait of Hormuz will be reopened only under Iranian arrangements, not through US threats,” wrote Ghalibaf, who is also speaker of Iran’s parliament.
The US Central Command (CENTCOM) said on Wednesday its forces had struck approximately 90 Iranian military targets, including air defence systems, coastal surveillance assets, missile and drone storage sites, naval capabilities, and military logistics infrastructure along Iran’s coastline.
“The United States is holding Iran accountable for recent unjustified aggression against commercial shipping and civilian crews freely navigating a vital international waterway,” CENTCOM said in a statement.
“This is in retribution for yesterday’s bombing of ships by Iran. If it happens again, it will get much worse!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on Wednesday.