The US military attacked Iran early Wednesday after it said Tehran struck three ships in the Strait of Hormuz, part of an American effort that also revoked ran’s ability to openly sell crude oil in the world market. Iran retaliated with strikes targeting Bahrain and Kuwait.
The regional crossfire raised the risks that an interim agreement to halt fighting in the war could break down, putting the Middle East again at risk of a wider conflict. However, the fire followed a pattern of similar attacks during the deal’s shaky ceasefire, and neither country immediately signaled they’d leave the negotiating table.
The attacks on shipping and the resulting strikes came during the dayslong funeral for Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed Feb. 28 in the war’s first moments at age 86. The funeral, which ends Thursday, had been thought to be a period of lower tensions — though mourners have repeatedly called for the killings of US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Negotiations to reach a final deal had been due to start after Khamenei’s burial and focus on the toughest matters, including fully reopening the strait and rolling back Tehran’s disputed nuclear program. But the new attacks threw that into question.
“The era of bullying and extortion is over,” Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf wrote on X. “It leads nowhere. We don’t fold.”
The US military’s Central Command said American forces launched the strikes “to impose heavy costs for targeting and attacking commercial shipping crewed by innocent civilians in an international waterway.”
It said it hit Iranian targets including air defense systems, radars and over 60 small boats used by Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard. Those boats have been key in harassing ships in the strait.
The US military remains “postured and prepared to hold Iran accountable when the agreement is not adhered to or obeyed,” it added, saying this round of attacks had ended.
Iran acknowledged the strikes, but gave no word on any losses. Iranian state media reported explosions in Bandar Abbas, Qeshm and Sirik. State media later reported about an attack on Bandar Mahshahr killing one Guard member, as well as attacks on Bushehr.
Wednesday morning, both Bahrain, home to the US Navy’s 5th Fleet, and Kuwait, home to US Army forces, sounded missile alerts. The Guard issued a statement acknowledging targeting U.S. military installations in both countries.
