The United States launched a new wave of strikes against Iran, prompting retaliatory attacks from Iranian forces across the Gulf region, escalating tensions and further undermining an already fragile truce.
In the early hours of Monday, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced it had struck dozens of targets at multiple locations across Iran. The strikes hit "military air-defense systems, coastal radar sites, and missile and drone capabilities and small boats" using fighter aircraft, naval vessels, one-way attack aerial drones, and for the first time, one-way attack sea drones. The operation aimed to degrade "Iran's ability to continue attacking international shipping flowing through the Strait of Hormuz."
Iranian officials reported that US strikes hit eight cities in Khuzestan province, killing one security guard and injuring four people at a water station in Mahshahr.
Hours later, Iranian forces retaliated with attacks on US military targets in several Gulf countries. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it targeted a long-range FPS air surveillance radar in Bahrain, a vessel detection radar system in Oman, and a US Army surface-to-surface missile base in Kuwait. The IRGC claimed the strike in Kuwait destroyed two missile launchers and nearby storage facilities, causing significant damage.
Bahrain issued alerts urging residents to remain calm and head to the nearest safe location, while Jordanian authorities said four missiles entering their airspace from Iran were intercepted.
Monday's attacks followed a separate round of US strikes on Saturday, when the US said it hit about 140 targets across Iran in retaliation for IRGC attacks on commercial shipping and Tehran's announcement that the Strait of Hormuz had been closed.
The latest exchange comes as a Memorandum of Understanding agreed by Washington and Tehran in mid-June, which extended an April ceasefire and began to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, appears increasingly close to collapse. The agreement established a framework aimed at ending the war that began on February 28 with US-Israeli strikes on Iran, and opening negotiations on more contentious issues, including Iran's nuclear programme.
Control of the Strait of Hormuz—through which about 20 percent of global energy exports passed before the conflict—has remained a major sticking point. US President Donald Trump has pushed to bring down oil and gas prices ahead of this year's midterm elections, while Tehran insists that vessels must transit through the shipping lane closest to its coastline to preserve control over traffic.
Iran has repeatedly targeted ships using the southern route closer to the Omani coast. On Monday, Kpler shipping data showed vessel traffic through the Strait fell to its lowest level in five weeks.
Last week, Trump declared the ceasefire over, before adding on Friday that the two sides had agreed to continue talks.