Wars 2026 02/28 Israel-Iran War 3.0

[Saif]

Iran fires warning missiles at US destroyers

Iran’s military said on Friday it had fired ‘warning missiles’ at two US destroyers in the Gulf of Oman, forcing the vessels to leave the area, according to state media.

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Iran fires warning missiles at US destroyers
Agence France-Presse . Tehran, Iran 06 June, 2026, 01:20

Iran’s military said on Friday it had fired ‘warning missiles’ at two US destroyers in the Gulf of Oman, forcing the vessels to leave the area, according to state media.

It said the two destroyers left the Gulf of Oman ‘following the firing of warning missiles’ by Iranian forces, according to a statement carried by state news agency IRNA.

The operation was in response to ‘maritime misconduct and harassment, as well as the hijacking of commercial vessels and oil tankers by the terrorist naval forces of the United States,’ the military said.

The US military’s Central Command was quick to deny that the incident had taken place.

‘Iranian forces did NOT attack or fire at US Navy warships. Doing so would be a gross violation of the ceasefire.’

It said its forces ‘continue to operate freely in regional waters’ and were enforcing the US counterblockade on Iranian ports.

It is the latest episode to shake a ceasefire announced on April 8 that has largely halted hostilities between Iran and the United States as well as Israel following the outbreak of war on February 28, when allied forces targeted Iran.

Efforts to end the war through direct and mediated talks have so far failed.

US secretary of state Marco Rubio said on Wednesday that Washington was ‘no longer conducting sustained strikes’ against Iran as Operation Epic Fury, the US name for its attacks on Iran, was over.

He added that the United States had destroyed what Iran ‘had left of an air force’ in addition to ‘wiping out their entire conventional navy’.

Iran has, since the onset of the war, imposed a naval blockade on the Strait of Hormuz, the strategic waterway connecting the Gulf with the Indian Ocean.

The United States later set up its own blockade of Iranian ports. In peacetime, a fifth of the world’s oil used to pass through the chokepoint.​

 

[Saif]

Iran targets Bahrain, Kuwait after US strikes

Iran launched fresh aerial attacks on Bahrain and Kuwait early Saturday, after the United States said it had struck the Islamic republic.

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Iran targets Bahrain, Kuwait after US strikes
Tehran denounces IAEA’s ‘political pressure’

Agence France-Presse . Kuwait City, Kuwait 07 June, 2026, 00:14

| AFP file photo

Iran launched fresh aerial attacks on Bahrain and Kuwait early Saturday, after the United States said it had struck the Islamic republic.

The tiny island kingdom of Bahrain, home to the headquarters of the US Fifth Fleet, denounced the attacks against its territory and neighbouring Kuwait.

Manama said the two Gulf countries intercepted seven missiles fired by Iran and described the attacks, the second against both nations since Wednesday, as ‘blatant aggression’ and ‘a flagrant violation of the sovereignty of both countries’.

Kuwait also condemned the attacks, saying they were a ‘direct threat’ to the ‘lives of citizens and residents’ and represented a ‘dangerous escalation... at a time when the international community is making unremitting efforts to stop combat operations’.

Gulf neighbours Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar also condemned the attacks on Kuwait and Bahrain.

Meanwhile, Iran on the same day denounced as a ‘tool of political pressure’ a report by the International Atomic Energy Agency expressing concern over its lack of access to Iranian nuclear sites.

In Bahrain’s capital Manama, an AFP journalist reported hearing three explosions and the interior ministry announced air raid sirens had sounded across the country.

Later, Bahrain’s military said in a statement it had been ‘able to intercept and destroy three missiles and a number of drones’.

In Kuwait, an AFP journalist reported hearing repeated blasts near the country’s international airport, which had been struck on Wednesday in an attack blamed on Iran that killed one person.

‘We woke up to a huge explosion. The explosions were very loud,’ Reem, an Egyptian mother of two, told AFP, referring to the Saturday attacks.

‘My children were terrified, and I couldn’t calm them down,’ she added.

Kuwait’s military said it had ‘engaged seven hostile ballistic missiles this morning within Kuwaiti airspace’.

It added that some interceptions over residential areas caused falling debris which ‘resulted in material damage but no casualties’.

In the hours after the barrages, Kuwait’s aviation authority announced the resumption of air traffic, saying 11 Kuwait Airways and Jazeera Airways flights had been diverted during an air space closure due to the Iranian attack.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they had targeted ‘enemy bases’ with missiles after the US military said it struck radar sites in Iran and downed drones headed towards the strategic Strait of Hormuz.

US central command said six of the missiles fired towards Kuwait and Bahrain were downed, while the seventh ‘did not reach its intended target’.

Tehran was engaged in discussions with Washington about its nuclear programme when the United States and Israel attacked it on February 28, sparking war in the region.

Israel had previously struck Iran in June 2025, also while Washington and Tehran were engaged in nuclear negotiations, with Washington joining with later strikes before a ceasefire was declared.

During both conflicts, Iranian nuclear sites were bombed repeatedly.

‘If the agency wants to be part of a diplomatic solution, it must refrain from turning a technical report into a tool of political pressure,’ deputy foreign minister Kazem Gharibabadi wrote on X.

In a confidential report seen by AFP on Thursday, the IAEA stated that the lack of access to nuclear sites in Iran constitutes a ‘proliferation concern’.

The IAEA has never condemned the Israeli-American strikes on Iranian nuclear sites.

Gharibabadi on Saturday said the Israeli-American strikes are ‘not only a violation of Iran’s sovereignty’, but also ‘a direct blow to nuclear safety’.

‘One cannot bomb safeguarded facilities, destroy the access and safety necessary for inspections, and then use the consequences of that very attack as a grievance against Iran,’ he argued.​

 

[Saif]

Trump says he would not unfreeze Iran's assets before peace deal is done

U.S. President Donald Trump said in an interview with NBC News’ "Meet the Press" that ‌he would not unfreeze Iranian assets or lift any sanctions before a peace deal is reached. Trump said he would consider those steps after an agreement is done. "Comes after," he said. "Yeah. If they

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Trump says he would not unfreeze Iran's assets before peace deal is done

REUTERS

Published :
Jun 07, 2026 22:41
Updated :
Jun 07, 2026 22:41

U.S. President Donald Trump said in an interview with NBC News’ "Meet the Press" that ‌he would not unfreeze Iranian assets or lift any sanctions before a peace deal is reached.

Trump said he would consider those steps after an agreement is done. "Comes after," he said. "Yeah. If they behave, if they do a good job, we start talking. Yeah."

Trump ⁠also said that he was not demanding that Lebanon be a part of a short-term deal with Tehran.

"I think they'd like to see it, but I'm not demanding," Trump said in the interview recorded on Friday.

U.S. and Israeli forces began strikes on Iran on February 28. The Trump administration has been trying to negotiate a potential peace deal for weeks. "We're very close to a deal, or I'm going ‌to ⁠blow the hell out of them," Trump told NBC News.

The president also said he would be willing to speak with Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, who has not been seen in public since being wounded in ⁠U.S. strikes at the beginning of the conflict.

"I don't want to say whether or not I know where he is, but there's a good probability that ⁠I do," Trump said.

Top Trump administration officials such as Secretary of State Marco Rubio insist a temporary ceasefire agreement has been ⁠holding up despite recent U.S. strikes on Iran, telling lawmakers last week those are defensive actions.​

 

[Saif]

Israel reports incoming Iranian missiles in first since Mideast war ceasefire

The Israeli army reported the attack just hours after Tehran had threatened to retaliate for a new Israeli strike on Beirut

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Israel reports incoming Iranian missiles in first since Mideast war ceasefire

AFP, Jerusalem

An Iranian missile flies in the sky over Israel, as seen from Hebron, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, June 7, 2026. Photo: Reuters/Mussa Qawasma

Air raid sirens sounded in Israel on Sunday as its military worked to intercept barrages of incoming Iranian missiles for the first time since an April ceasefire took hold in the Middle East war.

The Israeli army reported the attack just hours after Tehran had threatened to retaliate for a new Israeli strike on Beirut.

An April 8 ceasefire had halted major hostilities between Iran, Israel and the US, but efforts to turn the truce into a settlement have repeatedly stalled, and Sunday's launches were sure to further dampen hopes for a lasting peace, as the Middle East war reached its 100th day.

Tehran has insisted any deal to permanently end the war must also halt the parallel conflict in Lebanon, where Israel is pursuing a campaign against the Iran-backed movement Hezbollah, and had warned that any new attacks on Beirut would trigger a "full-scale resumption" of hostilities.

On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office announced that the army had "struck a militant command centre in Beirut's Dahiyeh district, in response to Hezbollah's fire towards Israeli territory".

The raid killed two people and wounded 20 more, Lebanon's health ministry said.

Israel had warned it would hit the area should Hezbollah attack northern Israel, and the group later confirmed having launched missiles and drones at a pair of Israeli army barracks on Sunday morning.

Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran's parliament speaker and its chief negotiator in talks with Washington, accused the United States of having given a "green light" for the Beirut attack, saying US and Israeli assets were now "legitimate targets".

Hours later, the Israeli military reported at least three waves of incoming missiles, saying its air defences were "currently identifying and intercepting threats".

The head of Iran's military central command said Israel had "crossed all red lines" with the Beirut strike, demanding it halt its campaign in Lebanon.

"The Israeli army must stop its attacks on southern Lebanon and the suburbs, and if it expands its attacks to that region or responds to Iran's action, it will face more devastating and regrettable blows," General Ali Abdollahi said.

- 'Gone numb' -

The sharp escalation came as Iranians were already feeling the strain of weeks of uncertainty.

Fitness trainer Elaheh from Ahvaz told AFP: "I really have gone numb."

"Daily life? It's a joke. Everything is horrible. We only try to survive," the 32-year-old added, pointing to rising prices.

Farhad, a 35-year-old chef, also said life was becoming "increasingly difficult", noting economic hardship had set in even before the war.

"Things that just a few months ago you might have considered buying have now become dreams and fairy tales," he told AFP.

There were some signs of ongoing diplomatic efforts over the weekend, with Pakistan's interior minister Mohsin Naqvi visiting Tehran.

Naqvi said upon his arrival Saturday that he would deliver a "special letter" from Pakistan's army chief to Iran's supreme leader, as well as a message from the prime minister, according to Iranian state television.

Pakistani military leader Syed Asim Munir has played a key role in mediating between Iran and the US following an initial round of direct negotiations in Islamabad.

Also on Saturday, Lebanese army chief Rodolphe Haykal travelled to Pakistan for his own talks with Munir, and a source with knowledge of his visit said it was "linked to the Pakistani mediation" between Tehran and Washington.

- 'Deadlock' -

Mohsen Rezaei, military adviser to Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, had told CNN negotiations with the US "are at a deadlock, and Trump must break this deadlock", calling for the release of some $24 billion in frozen Iranian assets.

But Trump said in the same interview that he would not unfreeze Iranian assets before reaching an initial agreement with Tehran. "If they behave, if they do a good job, we start talking," he said.

In fact, Washington may seek to use those funds to pay for damage wrought by Iranian strikes on Gulf allies, according to a source familiar with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's thinking.

Meanwhile, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said overnight that it destroyed two Iranian drones "that threatened international maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz".

A previous drone interception and strikes on Iranian radar sites had prompted Tehran on Saturday to fire a salvo of missiles at US allies Bahrain and Kuwait.​

 

[Saif]

Iran, Israel have halted strikes on each other for now

Iran and Israel said on Monday they had halted attacks on each other following an appeal from U.S. President Donald Trump that they immediately "stop 'shooting'", though Tehran said it would resume strikes if Israel continued to hit Hezbollah in Lebanon.

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Iran, Israel have halted strikes on each other for now

Reuters
Dubai/Jerusalem
Updated: 08 Jun 2026, 20: 33

Photo shows flags of Iran (L) and Israel (R). Reuters

Iran and Israel said on Monday they had halted attacks on each other following an appeal from U.S. President Donald Trump that they immediately "stop 'shooting'", though Tehran said it would resume strikes if Israel continued to hit Hezbollah in Lebanon.

The wave of attacks over the past 24 hours marked the most direct confrontation between Iran and Israel since an April ceasefire, threatening to wreck Washington's efforts to reach an agreement with Tehran to end their more than three-month war.

Oil prices - which had risen by as much as 5 per cent after the flurry of attacks - later pared gains when Iran's military said its first wave of strikes on Israel was over. The dollar retreated from its highest level in nearly two months.

A source briefed on the matter told Reuters that Israel had also decided to halt its attacks on Iran.

Israel struck Iranian targets after Tehran fired missiles towards Israeli territory late on Sunday. Tehran said its strikes were retaliation for Israeli attacks on strongholds of Iran-backed Hezbollah on the outskirts of Beirut.

Israel hit a petrochemical plant in southwestern Iran that it said was used to produce ballistic missiles. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it retaliated with a strike aimed at a similar Israeli plant in the city of Haifa.

'Painful response'

Iran's military headquarters said it had "delivered a painful response" against Israel for its attacks on Lebanon, including Sunday's strikes on the outskirts of Beirut.

"Accordingly, the operations of the armed forces are hereby declared halted; however, it is emphasized that if the aggressions and acts of mischief continue — including in southern Lebanon — much more severe and crushing actions than before will follow."

The exchange has complicated Trump's push to end the war, launched by the U.S. and Israel on February 28, and underscores how easily the conflict could widen into a broader regional confrontation. A ceasefire announced on April 8 had paused all-out warfare but flare-ups in the Gulf have continued.

In one of several posts on social media, Trump said Israel and Iran both wanted "an immediate CEASEFIRE! Final negotiations on 'Peace' are proceeding, subject to ignorance or stupidity getting in its way." He added that a U.S. blockade of Iranian ports would remain in place till a final deal was reached.

An Israeli official said Trump had spoken with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday.

Earlier, an Israeli military official said Israel was prepared to continue operations for "as long as it takes," and confirmed strikes on newly rebuilt Iranian air defence systems in addition to the petrochemical target.

Iranian officials struck a similarly defiant tone. A military source quoted by the semi-official Tasnim news agency said Tehran was ready for a prolonged conflict and could renew strikes against U.S. interests in the region.

'Extreme suspicion'

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said Tehran was exchanging messages with Washington in an atmosphere of "extreme suspicion". Israel's actions in Lebanon, whether carried out with U.S. knowledge and consent or not, were aimed at sabotaging diplomacy, he added.

In Tehran, Iranian media reported explosions on Monday, with air defences shooting down a drone over the capital. There were no immediate reports of casualties or major damage.

Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis pledged in a statement to stop Israel's maritime navigation in the Red Sea, and said they had also fired missiles at Israel.

The Houthis have so far largely stayed out of the regional war. They control territory at the mouth of the Red Sea, increasingly important as an alternative route for millions of barrels per day of Middle East oil otherwise blocked by Iran's grip on the Strait of Hormuz.

The Israeli military official said Iran had fired "close to 30 ballistic missiles" at Israel since Sunday evening, and the Houthis a further two missiles.

Israel said it struck targets at the Mahshahr petrochemical complex that were used to produce and export raw materials for Iran's missile programme. A provincial official told Iranian media parts of the plant were damaged.

Fifteen people were injured across Iran in the latest Israeli attacks - 14 of them in Mahshahr County - but no deaths have been reported, Iran's National Emergency Organisation said.

The Israeli ambulance service said no casualties are reported from the missile launches toward Israel.

Lebanese-Israeli talks to resume

Israel has never halted its Lebanon campaign, which has killed thousands of people, saying it should be treated separately from any Iran ceasefire. Hezbollah has also continued its attacks.

Tehran has long said any peace deal with the U.S. would depend on an end to fighting in Lebanon, which Israel invaded in March in pursuit of Hezbollah fighters who fired across the border in solidarity with Tehran.

The U.S. ambassador to Lebanon, Michel Issa, said on Monday that Lebanese-Israeli negotiations were scheduled to resume in Washington.

Tehran has continued to block most shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, which carried a fifth of the world's crude oil and liquefied natural gas before the war. Washington has imposed its own blockade of Iranian ports.

Trump has said any peace deal must prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon. Iran's demands include the lifting of international sanctions, the release of billions of dollars in frozen assets and recognition of its sway over the strait.​

 

[Saif]

US launches new strikes on Iran after helicopter downed

The United States launched strikes against Iran on Tuesday after President Donald Trump said Tehran had shot down a US Apache helicopter in the Strait of Hormuz, deepening doubts over a potential peace deal and further straining a fragile ceasefire. The US military said on ‌X it had targeted

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US launches new strikes on Iran after helicopter downed

REUTERS

Published :
Jun 10, 2026 09:32
Updated :
Jun 10, 2026 09:34

US President Donald Trump looks at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, US, on June 8, 2026 — Reuters photo

The United States launched strikes against Iran on Tuesday after President Donald Trump said Tehran had shot down a US Apache helicopter in the Strait of Hormuz, deepening doubts over a potential peace deal and further straining a fragile ceasefire.

The US military said on ‌X it had targeted Iranian air defence, ground control stations and surveillance radar sites near the Strait of Hormuz. US Central Command described the operation as a “proportional response” to recent attacks on US forces and commercial shipping.

"I believe the response should be very strong, very powerful, and that's what this one is," Trump told ABC News.

The strikes began at 5:00 pm ET (2100 GMT), and Central Command posted just before 9:00 pm ET that they had ended.

Iran's state media reported that Qeshm island and the port city of Sirik in the Strait of Hormuz were attacked.

Sounds of explosions were heard in nearby Bandar Abbas, and later in the vicinity of Jask county, near the entrance to the strait, Iranian media reported, citing local sources and residents.

Some US bases in the region were targeted in response to the strikes, Iranian media cited the country's top joint military command, Khatam al-Anbiya, as saying.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards said they attacked the ⁠US Fifth Fleet in Bahrain with drones and threatened "more severe responses" if hostilities continued, according to media.

Bahrain's Interior Ministry said a warning siren had been sounded and urged the public to head to safety. Air defences had repelled Iranian attacks, a media adviser to Bahrain's King said soon after in a post on X.

The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Reuters could not immediately verify the battlefield reports.

Oil prices climbed about 1 per cent in early Asian trade on Wednesday following the escalation in hostilities.

NOT A BIG DEAL?

The Apache was brought down by a one-way Iranian attack drone, according to a US official who spoke on condition of anonymity. Two US pilots involved in the helicopter incident were uninjured, according to Trump.

Iran's state media cited a military source as saying that no offensive air military operations had been conducted in the Strait of Hormuz in the previous 24 hours.

Following the initial US strikes, Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi posted on X that the country would "leave no attack or threat unanswered."

In an earlier post, he did not directly address the helicopter incident, but said foreign forces in the region risked being involved in accidents or crossfire.

"To reduce risk, best solution is for them to leave," he wrote.

Iran and Israel exchanged airstrikes earlier this week, killing two people in Tehran.

Trump told The Wall Street Journal during a phone call on Tuesday that the helicopter incident "wasn’t a big deal" and stressed that “the pilot is fine."

However, the episode could well add ‌further strain to ⁠efforts to broker a peace deal to end the wider Middle East war and reopen Hormuz, a vital conduit for petroleum and other commodities.

Trump has repeatedly said Iran and the United States are close to an agreement, though there have been few signs of progress since a tenuous ceasefire took effect in early April.

A US Navy surface drone found and rescued the two crew, the US military said, after the US Army attack helicopter went down in waters near Oman's coast while on patrol at around 3:00 am on Tuesday (2300 GMT on Monday).

The US military's Central Command gave no reason for the crash. It said the soldiers were rescued after two hours and said they were in stable condition - a more cautious assessment than Trump's description.

ISRAEL HITS LEBANON'S TYRE PORT CITY, KILLING EIGHT

In a parallel conflict, Israel struck the ⁠historic port city of Tyre in southern Lebanon, killing at least eight people. It was the deadliest strike on the city since fighting erupted in Lebanon in early March, when Hezbollah launched rockets at Israel.

A video verified by Reuters showed debris strewn across a road at the site of the attack.

Israel's refusal to end its campaign against Iran-backed Hezbollah has hindered Trump's efforts to extend a tenuous ceasefire in the wider US-Israeli war with Iran into a durable settlement.

Tehran has long said any peace deal with Washington depends in part on an end ⁠to fighting in Lebanon.

In northern Israel on Tuesday, Israeli troops operating in the Ramim Ridge area close to Lebanon's border killed one person in an incident in which they returned fire, the military said.

Israel has never halted its Lebanon campaign, which has killed thousands of people, saying the conflict should be treated separately from any US-Iranian ceasefire. Hezbollah has also continued its attacks.

At the same time, Tehran has continued to block most shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, which before the war carried a ⁠fifth of the world's crude oil and liquefied natural gas. Washington has imposed its own blockade of Iranian ports.

US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said on Tuesday that ship traffic through Hormuz is rising "very meaningfully," but added it would take many months to get back to normal flows of energy once the war is over.

Trump has said any peace deal must ensure Iran cannot develop a nuclear weapon. Iran's demands include the lifting of international sanctions, the release of billions of dollars in frozen assets and recognition of its control of the strait.​

 

[Saif]

Iran Guards have launched drone attack on United States base in Bahrain

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said on Wednesday that they had struck a United States base in Bahrain, following attacks on the Islamic republic over a downed American helicopter...

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Iran Guards have launched drone attack on United States base in Bahrain
Agence France-Presse . Tehran, Iran 10 June, 2026, 10:48

Representational image. | BSS photo

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said on Wednesday that they had struck a United States base in Bahrain, following attacks on the Islamic republic over a downed American helicopter.

‘The warmongering US regime attacked several points in Jask, Sirik and Qeshm early this morning under false pretexts, damaging a telecommunications mast in Sirik and destroying two water tanks in the city,’ the Guards said in a statement quoted by Iranian media.

‘In response to the enemy’s vicious move, the IRGC naval fighters launched a drone strike on the Bahraini 5th Navy at 2:30am (2300 GMT Tuesday),’ they added, warning ‘heavier responses’ if the attacks continue.​

 

[Saif]

Tehran targets US Gulf bases after American forces launch new strikes on Iran

Iran has attacked US bases in the Gulf region in retaliation for the latest round of US strikes, which came after Donald Trump said he would hit the country "hard", the BBS reports. US Central Command (Centcom) on Wednesday said it had completed its second consecutive day of "self-defense strikes"

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Tehran targets US Gulf bases after American forces launch new strikes on Iran

FE ONLINE DESK

Published :

Jun 11, 2026 09:20
Updated :
Jun 11, 2026 09:20

Iranian missiles are launched, as Iran's Revolutionary Guards said they had carried out attacks against a US base in Jordan and 21 other targets in the Gulf on Wednesday in retaliation for American strikes around the Strait of Hormuz, from a location given as Tehran, Iran, released Jun 10, 2026, in this still image taken from a video. — WANA via Pool/via REUTERS

Iran has attacked US bases in the Gulf region in retaliation for the latest round of US strikes, which came after Donald Trump said he would hit the country "hard", the BBS reports.

US Central Command (Centcom) on Wednesday said it had completed its second consecutive day of "self-defense strikes", launched overnight after Trump said Tehran had taken "too long to make a deal" to end the war.

In response, Iran said it had attacked US military bases in Bahrain and Kuwait, the same two targets of retaliatory Iranian strikes conducted the day before.

The escalation of tit-for-tat attacks in recent days has tested a fragile ceasefire agreed between the two countries in April.

After the latest US attack, explosions were heard in cities in the south of Iran, near the Strait of Hormuz, where US forces also hit air defence, radar and other sites in the earlier round of strikes.

In the latest flare-up, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) also said it had struck two oil tankers passing through the Strait of Hormuz, Iranian state media reported, although there was no immediate confirmation.

That came after Iranian state media reported that the Strait of Hormuz was "completely closed to all type of vessel". Centcom, however, said "commercial ships are continuing to transit in and out of the Strait of Hormuz".

Oil prices rose shortly after the closure of the shipping channel and the apparent attack on the ships was announced.

Brent crude oil, seen as the global benchmark, climbed above $95 a barrel after rising by about 2% during morning trade in Asia.

Hours before the US launched its latest attack, Trump had warned: "We hit them hard yesterday and we're going to hit them hard again today."

Trump wrote on Truth Social that Iranian leaders have "taken too long to negotiate a deal".

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said Iran had been given a chance to make a deal but had not taken it, adding that bombs would be "dropping on key facilities" in the country.

The US president added that Iran would be attacked again if no peace deal was secured.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Iran "will stand firm against any pressure or threat". The Iranian foreign ministry earlier accused the US of "damaging the diplomatic process through the contradictory messages it sends".

In April, the US and Iran agreed a ceasefire that was initially meant to last for two weeks. Both sides have since exchanged intermittent fire, without returning to full-scale hostilities.

However, recent efforts to broker negotiations between Washington and Tehran have stalled and attacks have ramped up.

This week, a US helicopter was downed in an attack that was blamed on Iran. The IRGC responded by targeting US bases across the Middle East.

In a statement on X, UN Secretary General António Guterres said the Middle East was "being pulled deeper into crisis", and recent attacks meant "the ceasefire is more like a lesser-fire".

"We should not minimize the risks of lesser fire becoming full fire. All parties must work towards a diplomatic settlement. No more attacks. No more excuses," he said in a statement.​