US strikes Iran again, Tehran fires back at neighbouring Gulf states
Fresh wave of tit-for-tat attacks follows Donald Trump’s declaration that an interim agreement to end the war is ‘over’
The United States launched new air strikes against Iran early Thursday, and Tehran responded by targeting Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar in crossfire that again threatened an interim deal intended to help end the war in the Persian Gulf.
Back-and-forth attacks, including a day earlier, have repeatedly threatened the ceasefire, but Thursday’s appeared bigger all around, with sirens sounding at least three times in Bahrain, home to the US Navy’s 5th Fleet headquarters, and missiles targeting Kuwait and Qatar.
Sirens sounded on Thursday afternoon in Jordan as well, where the US has stationed troops and aircraft.
An Iranian official accused the US of launching an airstrike later on Thursday targeting the area around Iran’s sole nuclear power plant, and other explosions were reported elsewhere in the country during the afternoon.
The strikes came hours after US President Donald Trump said recent Iranian attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz signalled the end of the fragile ceasefire. The US struck a variety of military sites and port facilities early Wednesday after Iran targeted several merchant vessels off the coast of Oman, sparking Iranian fire then as well.
In Iran, the two days of American air strikes have killed at least 14 people and wounded another 78, Iran’s Health Ministry said on Thursday in its first overall count of casualties.