US Launches Fresh Strikes on Iran Over Hormuz Shipping as Tehran Hits Gulf States

The US military said on Wednesday it had launched fresh strikes on Iran aimed at keeping the Strait of Hormuz open to commercial shipping, prompting Tehran to retaliate with missile and drone attacks on Kuwait and Bahrain in the latest escalation threatening efforts to end the war.

The strikes came a day after Iran targeted three cargo ships transiting the strategic waterway and hours after US President Donald Trump said he believed an interim ceasefire with Tehran was "over."

"U.S. Central Command forces have started conducting additional strikes against Iran to further degrade their ability to threaten freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz," CENTCOM, the US military's Middle East command, wrote on X.

"The United States is holding Iran accountable for recent unjustified aggression against commercial shipping and civilian crews freely navigating a vital international waterway."

A US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters the strikes on Wednesday would be larger than those carried out a day earlier.

"This is in retribution for yesterday’s bombing of ships by Iran. If it happens again, it will get much worse!" Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

The attacks rattled cities along Iran's southern coast, causing power outages in some areas. Iran responded with a second consecutive day of attacks on Kuwait and Bahrain, both of which host US military bases.

Kuwait's Defence Ministry said it was intercepting missiles and drones, while Qatar briefly issued an "elevated security threat" alert before later giving the all-clear.

The latest exchange further dimmed hopes that a memorandum of understanding signed on June 17 could be turned into a permanent agreement to end the conflict, which began with US-Israeli attacks on Iran on February 28.

Speaking before the NATO summit in Turkey on Wednesday, Trump was asked whether the memorandum remained in effect.

"It's a very interesting question. To me, I think it's over. I don't want to deal with them."

"If we make a deal with Iran I'm not sure that will stick," Trump later said. "I found them to be very dishonourable people."

He later added: "Anything that happens is going to be over very quickly ... and will only make it safer, including for oil."

Although Iran has not claimed responsibility for Tuesday's attacks on commercial ships, analysts say such actions are intended to strengthen its hand in negotiations.

"The U.S. has yet to learn that bullying and breaking its commitments no longer come without a cost. Let me be clear: If you strike, you will be struck back," Iran's top negotiator, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, wrote on X.

"The Strait of Hormuz will be reopened only under Iranian arrangements, not through U.S. threats."

Iranian media reported strikes across much of the country's southern coastline, stretching from the Strait of Hormuz to the Gulf of Oman.

Among the locations hit were Bandar Abbas, home to Iran's largest port and key navy and Revolutionary Guards facilities, as well as the coastal cities of Konarak and Chabahar near the Pakistani border.

Mehr news agency, citing the local utility, said electricity had been restored to most areas of Chabahar after strikes caused outages. Iranian media also reported that a maritime traffic control tower in the city had been hit.

State media said a firefighter was killed in a strike on the airport in the southeastern city of Iranshahr. In northern Iran, Press TV reported that a US strike hit a railway bridge near the town of Aqqala.

Before Wednesday's attacks, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei accused Washington of violating the memorandum by challenging a clause that "emphasizes the Islamic Republic of Iran's responsibility in determining arrangements for the safe passage of ships through the Strait of Hormuz".

In a letter to the United Nations Security Council on Wednesday, Iran's UN mission accused the United States of a "blatant violation of the Charter of the United Nations and its international obligations" and said the attacks breached the memorandum of understanding signed by the two countries.