# Iran Strikes US Bases in Bahrain and Kuwait as US Launches Fresh Strikes on Iran

Iran launched drone and missile attacks on American military facilities in Bahrain and Kuwait after United States forces struck Iranian missile and radar sites, widening a confrontation the US-Iran truce had been expected to contain.

- Published: 2026-06-27T10:15:39.950Z
- Canonical: https://polylog.news/2026-06-27/tanker-struck-in-strait-of-hormuz-as-us-iran-truce-survives
- Publisher: Polylog (Global desk)
- Section: geopolitics
- Sources: [IRNA](https://www.irna.ir/news/86193972/%DB%8C%DA%A9-%D9%81%D8%B1%D9%88%D9%86%D8%AF-%D9%86%D9%81%D8%AA%DA%A9%D8%B4-%D8%AF%D8%B1-%D8%AA%D9%86%DA%AF%D9%87-%D9%87%D8%B1%D9%85%D8%B2-%D9%87%D8%AF%D9%81-%D9%BE%D8%B1%D8%AA%D8%A7%D8%A8%D9%87-%D9%86%D8%A7%D8%B4%D9%86%D8%A7%D8%B3-%D9%82%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%B1-%DA%AF%D8%B1%D9%81%D8%AA), [The Hindu](https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/west-asia-war-iran-us-conflict-washington-tehran-ceasefire-strait-of-hormuz-israel-lebanon-peace-deal-live-updates-june-27-2026/article71153161.ece), [Ynet](https://www.ynet.co.il/news/article/s1h1abafgl)

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) launched drone and missile attacks early on Saturday against United States military facilities in Bahrain, home to the Navy's Fifth Fleet, and the Ali al-Salem area of Kuwait, [according to PBS](https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/iranian-drones-attack-bahrain-and-a-ship-is-struck-in-the-strait-after-u-s-airstrikes). Bahrain's Foreign Ministry [confirmed and condemned the attack](https://www.khaleejtimes.com/world/gulf/bahrain-targeted-iranian-drone-june-27-strongly-condemns-attack), calling it a criminal act of aggression and a violation of its sovereignty. These are the most direct strikes on US installations since Washington and Tehran signed a memorandum of understanding intended to end their war.

The attacks followed strikes on Friday by US Central Command against Iranian missile and drone storage sites and coastal radar locations, [Al Jazeera reported](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/6/26/us-strikes-iran-in-response-to-drone-strike-on-commercial-ship). Those strikes were a response to an IRGC drone attack on Thursday that damaged the Singapore-flagged container ship Ever Lovely near the coast of Oman as it exited the Strait of Hormuz, an attack that caused no casualties, [according to The Hill](https://thehill.com/policy/defense/5943241-us-iran-strike-strait-hormuz-ship-drone-attack/). The vessel's bridge and starboard side sustained damage.

The IRGC claimed it destroyed eight US military sites in Bahrain and Kuwait, an assertion Washington has not corroborated. [The Tribune reported](https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/world/iran-destroys-8-american-military-infrastructures-in-kuwait-bahrain-in-response-to-second-us-strikes-claims-irgc/) the IRGC's claim, while US forces said they intercepted missiles aimed at Bahrain and downed multiple drones over Kuwait. Tehran accuses Washington of breaching the agreement, and Bahrain, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates [condemned Iran's strikes](https://english.alarabiya.net/amp/News/gulf/2026/06/27/bahrain-condemns-iranian-drone-attacks-on-its-territory) as a threat to regional stability. Each side attributes the escalation to the other, [as reported by Al Jazeera](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/6/27/iran-and-us-trade-blame-for-attacks-threatening-fragile-ceasefire).

The broader sequence drew in Gulf shipping over several days. United States forces fired on and disabled two Iranian oil tankers on Friday, [PBS reported](https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/u-s-fires-on-and-disables-2-more-iranian-tankers-as-tensions-rise-in-the-strait-of-hormuz), and a tanker was hit by an unidentified projectile in the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday morning, [as reported by IRNA](https://www.irna.ir/news/86193972/%DB%8C%DA%A9-%D9%81%D8%B1%D9%88%D9%86%D8%AF-%D9%86%D9%81%D8%AA%DA%A9%D8%B4-%D8%AF%D8%B1-%D8%AA%D9%86%DA%AF%D9%87-%D9%87%D8%B1%D9%85%D8%B2-%D9%87%D8%AF%D9%81-%D9%BE%D8%B1%D8%AA%D8%A7%D8%A8%D9%87-%D9%86%D8%A7%D8%B4%D9%86%D8%A7%D8%B3-%D9%82%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%B1-%DA%AF%D8%B1%D9%81%D8%AA). Iran again declared the Strait of Hormuz closed, [according to The Hindu's live coverage](https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/west-asia-war-iran-us-conflict-washington-tehran-ceasefire-strait-of-hormuz-israel-lebanon-peace-deal-live-updates-june-27-2026/article71153161.ece) and [Israel's Ynet](https://www.ynet.co.il/news/article/s1h1abafgl).

The confrontation reaches markets through the same channel. Brent crude had fallen to about $72 a barrel after transits through Hormuz accelerated and Gulf producers raised output, [restoring exports toward three-quarters of pre-conflict levels](https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2026/6/19/oil-prices-rise-as-lebanon-fighting-erupts-and-hormuz-traffic-still-slow). Direct attacks on US bases in third countries reintroduce the supply risk that the recent price decline had assumed was receding.

## What this means

The episode shows that the US-Iran arrangement is a managed pause rather than a durable peace, and that oil prices will repeatedly absorb that uncertainty. Roughly a fifth of seaborne crude passes through Hormuz, so even a single attack can reverse weeks of price declines and feed into global energy inflation.

## What to watch

- Whether the United States treats the strikes on its bases as crossing a threshold that warrants a larger military response, which would signal the truce has collapsed and the war is entering a wider phase rather than a contained exchange.
- The stance of Gulf states whose territory was hit, particularly Bahrain and Kuwait. If hosts of US forces press for de-escalation or limit American use of their bases, it constrains how Washington can respond and how far the conflict can widen.
- Traffic and insurance conditions in the Strait of Hormuz after Iran's renewed closure declaration. A sustained drop in transits would tighten oil supply and put upward pressure on crude prices, reversing the recent decline.
- Whether independent confirmation supports or contradicts the IRGC's claim to have destroyed eight US sites. The gap between Iran's account and US reports of interceptions shapes how severe the damage was and how much pressure builds on each side to escalate.