US and Iran Trade Fresh Strikes as Tehran Declares Hormuz Closed and Hits Bahrain and Kuwait

The truce that had quieted the Gulf for weeks has broken back into open military exchange. After the United States Central Command (CENTCOM) said its fighter jets struck 10 Iranian military targets in and around the Strait of Hormuz on Friday and Saturday, Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard said it launched ballistic missiles and drones at the US Ali Al Salem airbase in Kuwait and the US Fifth Fleet's facilities in Bahrain. CENTCOM described its strikes as retaliation for an Iranian drone attack on a Panamanian-flagged tanker off Oman on Thursday.

Kuwait, which hosts a major US base, said its air defenses intercepted Iranian drones and two missiles. Bahrain said the incoming fire damaged a residential building near its international airport and that no one was killed. Both governments reported interceptions and property damage, and the full extent of the damage remains disputed by the parties.

Tehran again declared the Strait of Hormuz closed to tankers and commercial vessels, warning it would fire on any ship that attempted to pass, and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Iran must control the waterway. The renewed fighting followed efforts by a US-led maritime coalition to reopen the strait without Iranian oversight. The coalition said 89 US-assisted commercial transits had continued in recent days, below the historical average of 138 vessels a day.

Iran also threatened a "complete halt" to negotiations to end the war if Washington kept striking. A US official countered that talks would continue, leaving the status of any diplomatic track contested. Oil markets, which had spent weeks pricing out the war premium, reversed course: Brent crude rose 1.3% to $72.91 a barrel as supply fears returned. Roughly 20% of the world's seaborne oil and about a third of its liquefied natural gas move through the strait.