Iran threatens – Iran launched drone and missile attacks on Bahrain and Kuwait after new U.S. airstrikes, threatening to halt negotiations on an interim deal unless Washington stops. The violence comes as efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz without Iranian oversight face fr
For the second straight day, the Persian Gulf felt like it was tightening a knot around shipping lanes.
On Sunday, Iran launched drone and missile attacks targeting Bahrain and Kuwait after new U.S. airstrikes against Iran. The strikes landed in a region already jittery from days of crossfire tied to attempts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz without Iran’s oversight.
Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard claimed responsibility for the attacks in Bahrain and Kuwait. Kuwait said its air defenses intercepted Iranian drones and two missiles just after the U.S. strikes in Iran. There were no reports of injuries or damage. Bahrain, home to the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet. said the Iranian strikes damaged a residential building near the international airport and that no one was killed; Bahrain said the damaged building was not near U.S. headquarters.
Bahrain’s Foreign Ministry denounced what it called “a dangerous escalation” and said it shows Tehran’s actions are not “a passing act” or “an isolated incident,” but “a deliberate approach and a systematic pattern of repeated aggression.”
Later Sunday, Qatar said a civilian was killed and another person was hurt by shrapnel connected to “military operations in the area” after a vessel did not return at its scheduled time on Saturday. The statement did not provide details.
The timing sharpened the stakes. In Washington’s account, U.S. retaliation was already under way before Iran’s Sunday strikes. The U.S. military’s Central Command said it struck Iranian military “surveillance infrastructure. communication systems. air defense sites. drone storage facilities and minelayer capabilities” after an attack on a ship at sea Saturday. It cited the Panamanian-flagged tanker Kiku. which carried crude oil for the state-run energy company of Qatar. a key mediator between Iran and the U.S.
President Donald Trump accused Iran on social media of violating the ceasefire and warned the U.S. could reach a point where it is no longer “reasonable” and would be “forced to militarily complete the job.” He wrote: “If that happens, the Islamic Republic of Iran will no longer exist!”
The broader confrontation began. according to the sequence described here. when an Iranian drone struck a merchant vessel off Oman on Thursday and the U.S. military retaliated with strikes. Since then. ship traffic on the strait increased over the past 72 hours “despite the elevated threat environment. ” the multinational maritime body overseen by the U.S. Navy said Sunday. It added that “U.S.-assisted commercial transits continued uninterrupted” and that 89 such transits had been made. still below the historical average of 138 vessels a day.
What made Sunday different wasn’t only the violence. Iran also moved quickly to link those attacks to the negotiating track.
Iran threatened a “complete halt” in negotiations to end the war if Washington continues its airstrikes. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi reiterated Tehran’s long-standing position that it alone must govern the Strait of Hormuz. describing the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf as a waterway tied to energy flows that once carried a fifth of the world’s oil and natural gas.
Araghchi said: “Any attempt to establish new or separate arrangements from those currently being carried out by the Islamic Republic of Iran will only lead to further complications, delay the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and increase the level of tension.”
Days of effort to reopen the strait without Iran’s oversight have already produced sparks. A multinational maritime body overseen by the U.S. Navy said Saturday it would expand a route near Oman for inbound and outbound traffic, a plan that sets up a new flashpoint with Tehran.
Iranian officials have also pointed to earlier incidents. The global community has long considered the strait an international waterway. despite its location in Iran and Oman’s territorial waters. In recent days. Iran attacked vessels going through a route on the Omani side during an evacuation effort backed by a United Nations agency.
The United States and Iran have been discussing terms of an interim deal that would include arrangements on the strait. the removal of a U.S. blockade on Iranian ports and sanctions on Iran, and the future of Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium. Under a memorandum of understanding signed this month, the parties have 60 days from that signing to work out the details.
Pakistan, a key mediator, earlier said talks would resume Tuesday.
But the interim deal is meant to end fighting on all fronts before certain key issues are addressed. and continued violence elsewhere threatens to undermine that promise. Fighting in Lebanon. where an Israeli soldier was killed by Hezbollah fire early Sunday. is a major complication for any effort to slow the overall conflict.
Last week. Israel and Lebanon signed a framework agreement intended to end the latest fighting between Israel and the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group. which began two days after the Iran war started when Hezbollah fired at Israel. Israel has responded with an invasion of southern Lebanon and said it will not withdraw until Hezbollah is disarmed. That framework did not include Iran or Hezbollah. Hezbollah has criticized it and rejected calls to disarm.
On Sunday, Iran’s foreign minister again said the U.S. must force Israel to halt attacks and withdraw. Israel occupies around 600 square kilometers (231 square miles) in southern Lebanon, which it says it needs as a security buffer.
Sporadic clashes have continued. Hezbollah’s leader said Saturday the group would continue fighting until Israel withdraws from Lebanon.
Iran’s diplomatic messaging came with operational proposals. Key Iranian negotiator and parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf said Sunday that a meeting of a new “conflict control unit” formed among Iran. the United States and Lebanon should meet as soon as possible. Iran’s state broadcaster reported.
The frequency of Israeli strikes in Lebanon has decreased significantly since the Iran-U.S. deal was signed. but two strikes hit southern Lebanon on Sunday morning—one in Taybeh town and the other in the Nabatiyeh area. according to Lebanon’s National News Agency. There was no immediate word on casualties. Overnight, Hezbollah militants killed an Israeli soldier in Deir Siryan village in southern Lebanon, according to Israel’s military. Hezbollah did not comment.
The sequence is stark: U.S. strikes tied to a ship attack, Iran’s retaliation aimed at Gulf neighbors hosting U.S. forces, and a negotiating timetable now threatened by the very violence that the interim deal is meant to stop.
Iran attacks Bahrain Kuwait U.S. strikes Strait of Hormuz interim deal negotiations Hezbollah Lebanon Marco Rubio Trump Central Command 5th Fleet
So we struck first and now Iran is mad, cool.
I don’t even get why Bahrain and Kuwait are getting hit though. Like what did they do, besides exist? Also negotiations get “halted” every time someone sneezes.
This article says no injuries or damage but then also says a residential building was damaged, so which one is it? And why does the US always act surprised when Iran reacts? Maybe the whole thing is just to scare shipping into paying more, idk.
Strait of Hormuz “without Iranian oversight” sounds like we’re trying to take control of the choke point. Then Iran attacks nearby countries and everyone’s like “no one was hurt” okay but what about the people that live there long term? Feels like negotiations are just a PR word for delay.