# Iran Fires Missiles at Kuwait and Bahrain in Retaliation for U.S. Strikes, in a Direct Military Exchange That Imperils the Hormuz Truce

Iran's Revolutionary Guard said it struck American military sites across the Gulf in response to Friday's U.S. air strikes, and U.S. Central Command confirmed that seven ballistic missiles were fired toward Kuwait and Bahrain, marking a direct Iran–U.S. exchange that threatens the 60-day truce meant to keep the Strait of Hormuz open.

- Published: 2026-06-26T22:03:10.922Z
- Canonical: https://polylog.news/2026-06-26/u-s-strikes-iranian-military-sites-after-trump-accuses-tehra
- Publisher: Polylog (Global desk)
- Section: geopolitics
- Sources: [CNBC](https://www.cnbc.com/2026/06/26/us-strikes-iran-strait-of-hormuz-ceasefire.html), [Al Jazeera](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/6/11/iran-war-day-104-iran-says-it-attacks-us-bases-after-american-strikes), [CBS News](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/us-strikes-iran-drone-attack-cargo-ship-challenge-ceasefire-trump/)

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced on state television that it had attacked United States military sites in the Gulf, retaliating for Friday's U.S. air strikes and warning that any repeat would draw what it called a "broader" response. U.S. Central Command said Iran [fired seven ballistic missiles toward Kuwait and Bahrain late Friday](https://www.france24.com/en/middle-east/20260606-iran-targets-bahrain-and-kuwait-after-new-us-strikes), and reported that six were intercepted by U.S. and Bahraini air defenses while one fell short, with no U.S. personnel harmed. Vice President JD Vance said the United States would answer in kind, telling reporters that "violence will be met with violence" and that Iran could "pick up the phone" if it disputed how the two governments' agreement was being applied, [according to CBS News](https://www.cbsnews.com/video/jd-vance-says-violence-will-met-violence-iran-strikes/).

The exchange followed a rapid sequence on Friday. Central Command said it downed four Iranian one-way attack drones near the Strait of Hormuz, then [struck Iranian missile and drone storage locations and coastal radar sites](https://www.cnbc.com/2026/06/26/us-strikes-iran-strait-of-hormuz-ceasefire.html). President Trump described the U.S. action as a response to what he called a "foolish violation" of a 60-day ceasefire after Iranian drones fired at shipping in the strait.

The two sides describe the retaliation in conflicting terms. The IRGC said it targeted the headquarters of the U.S. Fifth Fleet, an airbase and helicopters in a Gulf country, claims that [news organizations reported from Iranian statements](https://www.thenationalnews.com/news/gulf/2026/06/06/iran-attacks-kuwait-and-bahrain-with-seven-ballistic-missiles/) and that remain unverified. The missile launches themselves are corroborated by Central Command. Bahrain and Kuwait both condemned the attacks as violations of their sovereignty.

The fighting comes a little more than a week after Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian signed a memorandum of understanding intended to build toward a permanent peace deal, under which Iran agreed to use its best efforts to keep the strait open for toll-free passage. One of Thursday's drones struck the upper deck of the Singapore-flagged cargo vessel Ever Lovely off the coast of Oman, [damaging the ship's bridge without causing injuries](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/us-strikes-iran-drone-attack-cargo-ship-challenge-ceasefire-trump/), according to U.S. and shipping accounts. An earlier phase of the conflict this month saw the IRGC [briefly declare the strait closed to all vessels and strike U.S. and allied sites in the Gulf](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/6/11/iran-war-day-104-iran-says-it-attacks-us-bases-after-american-strikes), according to Iranian statements reported by Al Jazeera.

Roughly a fifth of the world's traded oil passes through the waterway. Brent crude settled near $74 a barrel on Friday's session, down about 4 percent, a move traders attributed mainly to recovering tanker flows through Hormuz rather than to the military action, [CNBC reported](https://www.cnbc.com/2026/06/26/us-strikes-iran-strait-of-hormuz-ceasefire.html). That settlement preceded the late-Friday missile launches.

## What this means

A negotiated truce that had revived Gulf shipping has given way to direct U.S. strikes on Iranian soil, removing the buffer that kept oil markets calm. If Tehran carries out its threatened retaliation, the question shifts from whether tankers can transit Hormuz to whether the waterway functions at all, with consequences for global energy prices, shipping insurance, and any safe-haven rotation into the dollar and gold.

## What to watch

- Whether the United States follows through on Vance's warning with further strikes on Iran. A second round of U.S. action against Iranian territory would signal that the memorandum of understanding has effectively broken down and that an open-ended conflict has resumed.
- Tanker traffic and insurance rates in the Strait of Hormuz. A renewed closure or a sharp rise in war-risk premiums would point to disrupted oil flows through a passage that carries about a fifth of globally traded crude, and would likely reverse the price decline traders attributed to recovering shipments.
- The response of Gulf states hosting U.S. forces, particularly Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar. Public moves to distance themselves from U.S. operations, or to press for de-escalation, would constrain Washington's options and indicate the regional coalition is fracturing.
- Independent verification of the IRGC's damage claims against the U.S. Fifth Fleet and Gulf airbases. Confirmation of actual hits on U.S. assets, rather than intercepted or failed missiles, would raise the likelihood of a larger American military response.