US launches fresh strikes on Iran after tanker attack

Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard launched drone and missile attacks Sunday targeting Bahrain and Kuwait in response to US airstrikes that hit the Islamic Republic, and threatened a "complete halt" could come to negotiations to end the war if Washington continues its attacks.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on Sunday claimed it had destroyed eight US military infrastructures in Kuwait and Bahrain in a joint missile and drone operation, describing the strikes as retaliation for a second wave of US military attacks on Iranian targets.

In a statement carried by Iranian state media, Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), the IRGC's Public Relations department said its naval and aerospace forces launched ballistic missiles and drones between 2:00am and 3:00am local time, targeting the Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait and the US Fifth Fleet headquarters at Port Salman in Bahrain.

The IRGC said the operation was a "decisive response" to what it described as recent US aggression.

"Your zealous sons in the IRGC's naval and air forces, during a joint missile and drone operation at 2-3am today, Sunday, June 28, destroyed eight important infrastructures of the child-killing US army at the Ali Al Salem base in Kuwait and the Fifth Naval Fleet in Port Salman, Bahrain, by launching ballistic missiles and drones at them and decisively responded to the recent US aggression," the statement said.

The IRGC further stated that US forces had attacked five Iranian coastal positions earlier on Sunday, accusing Washington of violating a ceasefire agreement as per the 14-point memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the two sides to end the hostilities in West Asia. It also warned that any future attacks on Iran, regardless of scale, would be met with a "crushing response".

Air raid sirens sounded for a second time in Bahrain on Sunday, the Interior Ministry said.

Iran announced earlier that it had launched strikes against the US Fifth Fleet base in Bahrain and another base in Kuwait, in retaliation for US strikes on its territory.

"The siren has been sounded... Citizens and residents are urged to remain calm and head to the nearest safe place," the Interior Ministry said on X.

Ibrahim Al Fiqar, Official military Spokesperson for Iran's Khatam Al Anbiya Central Headquarters, the operational command center that coordinates the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the regular Iranian army, said that Iran will regulate maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz.

Fiqar, in a series of posts on X, said that violation of ceasefire will be met with a crushing response.

"Any new aggression, regardless of its pretext or the scale of its objectives, will be met with a crushing response. Violating the ceasefire constitutes a breach of Article 1 of the Islamabad Understanding and will lead to a complete halt of all tracks. Under the Islamabad understanding, Iran will regulate maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz. Violent vessels will be dealt with more firmly than before."

He added, "This morning, US forces attacked five Iranian coastal sites under the pretext of intercepting a violating vessel. The operation was a decisive response to the recent American attacks."

He said Iran also targeted US infrastructure in Kuwait and Bahrain.

He said, "We conducted a joint operation with missiles and drones targeting 8 US military sites and infrastructure at Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait and the Fifth Fleet in Bahrain. We are in charge of traffic arrangements in the Strait of Hormuz, and will deal more firmly with violating vessels than before. Any breach of the ceasefire will be met with a harsh response and will lead to the suspension of all understandings."

Iran's Revolutionary Guards said on Sunday that it carried out strikes against Kuwait and Bahrain in retaliation for US attacks on Iranian territory, warning any further aggression would be met with a "crushing response".

The Guards "destroyed eight important US military facilities at the Ali Al Salem base in Kuwait and at the Fifth Fleet naval base in Port Salman in Bahrain," they said in a statement.

"Any enemy aggression, whatever the pretext, even against insignificant targets... will have a crushing response," the Guards added.

The Guards said on Sunday measures had been taken to control traffic through the strait and that violating ships would be dealt with more firmly than before.

The US military said it carried out new strikes Saturday on multiple targets in Iran, in response to a fresh attack on a ship transiting the Strait of Hormuz.

"CENTCOM forces launched strikes today in direct response to continued Iranian aggression against commercial shipping," US Central Command said.

It adding that Iran had earlier Saturday attacked a Panama-flagged oil tanker, the Kiku, carrying more than two million barrels of crude oil.

The command later posted on X a grainy, 35-second video, recorded from midair, showing explosions in various landscapes.

"US Navy and Air Force fighter jets conducted strikes tonight on 10 Iranian military targets at multiple locations in and near the Strait of Hormuz for Iran's drone attack on M/T Kiku," the text of the post said.

The US military said the latest response targeted "surveillance infrastructure, communication systems, air defense sites, drone storage facilities, and minelayer capabilities."

Iranian media reported several explosions in the Sirik and Qeshm areas of southern Iran.

Kuwait came under attack from "hostile" missiles and drones, the country's army said on Sunday, while in Bahrain air-raid sirens sounded following fresh US strikes against Iran.

"Kuwaiti air defenses are currently engaging hostile missile and drone attacks. Everyone is urged to adhere to the safety and security instructions issued by the relevant authorities," the army wrote on X.

In Bahrain, which hosts a major US naval base, air raid sirens went off the interior ministry said, calling on residents to "remain calm and head to the nearest safe place".

US President Donald Trump said Saturday that Iran would "no longer exist" if the United States is "forced" to resume the war, as he accused Tehran of violating a ceasefire.

"United States aircraft just struck Iranian missile and drone storage locations, and coastal radar sites, for violating the Cease Fire Agreement, AGAIN!" Trump wrote on Truth Social.

"There may come a point when we are no longer able to be reasonable, and will be forced to militarily complete the job that we very successfully started. If that happens, the Islamic Republic of Iran will no longer exist!" Trump wrote.

The US military said on Sunday it had struck 10 targets in Iran at President Donald Trump's direction, continuing a string of attacks that have shaken the war's uneasy ceasefire.

US Central Command, in a post to social media, said that US military aircraft targeted Iranian military "surveillance infrastructure, communication systems, air defence sites, drone storage facilities, and minelayer capabilities" following an attack on a merchant vessel early on Sunday morning. It later specified the strikes involved 10 Iranian military targets at multiple locations in and near the Strait of Hormuz.

The ongoing strikes in the region show the danger of the Iran war again spinning out of control, even after Iran and the US reached an interim deal to try and agree on a final accord to end the conflict.

The incident follows a similar back and forth that occurred just days prior when an Iranian drone struck a merchant vessel off the coast of Oman on Thursday and the US military retaliated with strikes the next day.

US says strikes were a response to Iranian attack on oil tanker

US Central Command said that in this latest attack Iranian forces attacked the oil tanker Kiku with a one-way drone. The tanker was laden with more than two million barrels of crude oil and sailing through the Strait of Hormuz.

According to ship tracking websites, the Kiku left a Qatari oil field in the middle of the Arabian Gulf earlier in the week and was bound for a port in another Gulf country, just on the other side of the Strait of Hormuz.

It appeared to be attempting to use a route that was established near the coast of Oman that is serving as an alternative to the route sanctioned by Iran that runs through its own waters.

A multinational maritime body overseen by the US Navy said Saturday that it would expand the Omani route to allow for both inbound and outbound traffic, likely setting up a new flashpoint with Tehran, which sees the strait as a key source of leverage in ongoing talks with the US.

The US military said that "Iran had a chance to honour the ceasefire agreement" but "elected not to" when its forces attacked the Kiku.

Iran state TV reported explosions in an area just north of the Strait of Hormuz.

Day 120: US–Iran ceasefire under strain as drones target Bahrain

Day 119: Lebanon, Israel, US sign trilateral deal in Washington

Day 118: Oil price spikes after IRGC strike on ship in Hormuz

Day 117: Iran-Gulf reconciliation talks expected in Saudi Arabia

Day 116: Rubio lands in UAE on first leg of Gulf tour