35 killed in US strikes on Iran, Tehran claims attacks on US bases in Bahrain, Kuwait

At least 35 people have been killed  and more than 300 injured in ongoing US strikes on Iran, according to the Iranian Health Ministry.

US forces launched fresh overnight strikes on Wednesday targeting strategic sites along Iran’s southern coast. The US military said the attacks were aimed at degrading Iranian military capabilities allegedly used to threaten shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, and also targeted a vessel accused of attempting to breach a renewed naval blockade.

Explosions were reported on Qeshm Island, in Bandar Abbas, Sirik, Chabahar, Konarak and Rask, according to Iranian media.

Iran, meanwhile, claimed it had launched retaliatory attacks on US military facilities in Bahrain and Kuwait. The Iranian military said it also carried out drone strikes on communications systems, a radar installation and a fuel depot at  Azraq Air Base in Jordan as part of the ninth phase of its Sayeqehoperation.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it launched a combined missile and drone attack on Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait during the eighth phase of its Nasr-2 operation, targeting a C-RAM early warning radar and a gathering point for US troops. The claims could not be independently verified.

The IRGC also claimed to have shot down an enemy MQ-9 drone over Andimeshk in southwestern Iran.

The latest escalation has further strained a preliminary memorandum of understanding reached last month to reduce tensions. Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf warned Tehran had no reason to honour the agreement if it failed to serve Iran’s interests.

US President Donald Trump had earlier warned that Iran’s bridges and power plants could be targeted if Tehran failed to return to negotiations. Speaking on Wednesday, he declined to set a deadline but said Iran “knows what’s coming.”

The US Central Command (CENTCOM) said renewed naval restrictions on Iranian ports had diverted two commercial vessels, while the IRGC warned that other oil and gas export routes linked to the US and its allies could also come under threat.