Iran Hits Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait and Attacks Hormuz Ships as US Bombs About 90 Iranian Targets

Iran launched drone strikes on three US-allied Gulf states and attacked commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday, hours after American forces bombed roughly 90 targets across Iran. The Iranian army said it targeted a Patriot missile interceptor system in Kuwait, an early-warning site in Qatar and fuel tanks in Bahrain with what it called kamikaze drones, marking the first time since the truce that Tehran has officially acknowledged targeting Qatar. The move draws Gulf states directly into a conflict that had been a bilateral exchange between Washington and Tehran, a decisive escalation beyond this week's ceasefire collapse.

Kuwait's Defense Ministry said at least one person was injured and that it intercepted three ballistic missiles, one cruise missile and 10 drones, though damage occurred at several sites during the interceptions. Iranian officials put the broader toll at 14 killed and 78 wounded, figures that come largely from Tehran and have not been independently confirmed. US Central Command said its forces struck about 90 Iranian military targets, including air defenses, coastal surveillance, missile and drone storage, and naval assets along Iran's coast, and described the operation as an effort to degrade Iran's ability to attack shipping after Iranian missile strikes on three commercial vessels transiting the strait. Tehran describes the same events as retaliation for American aggression.

Oil markets extended their advance. West Texas Intermediate crude settled about 4.4% higher, near $73.52 a barrel, and Brent crude rose about 5.2% to roughly $78.02, its strongest daily gain since May, with the Brent contract trading as high as $80.59 intraday, according to S&P Global. Iran has threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz to all maritime traffic if the United States strikes again, according to state-run Press TV. The waterway carries about 20 million barrels a day of crude and refined products, roughly a fifth of the world's oil supply.

The strikes on the Gulf states followed President Trump's declaration at the NATO summit in Ankara that the three-week-old US-Iran ceasefire was "over." He threatened to reimpose the US naval blockade and said Washington could "take over Kharg Island," the terminal that handles the bulk of Iran's crude exports. "We attacked Kharg Island last night," Trump said, adding, "I said, 'don't touch the oil' because maybe we'll take over Kharg Island." That specific claim of a strike on the export terminal is less firmly established than his declaration that the truce has collapsed. Dawn reported that the American strikes prompted the Iranian attacks on Kuwait and Bahrain, both home to US military facilities, and the Israeli outlet Globes cited the US military describing the operation as broader than the previous day's.

Mediators have urged both sides to uphold the memorandum of understanding that paused the war. For readers, the reliable facts remain narrow. Both governments confirm renewed strikes, both claim the other started this round, and casualty and damage figures remain contested and largely unverified.