The United States has not carried out any fresh strikes on Iran in recent hours and remains committed to pursuing a diplomatic resolution, with "technical talks" between the two sides continuing despite the latest escalation, Reuters reported, citing two US Officials.
The comments came after Iran launched attacks on U.S. military infrastructure in Gulf states on Thursday, saying the strikes were retaliation for a wave of U.S. attacks a day earlier that targeted around 90 Iranian military sites, including air defence systems, coastal surveillance assets, and missile and drone storage facilities, according to U.S. Central Command.
The latest exchange further undermined a fragile three-week-old ceasefire that had already come under strain after attacks on Qatari and Saudi shipping vessels earlier this week prompted U.S. President Donald Trump to declare the truce "over."
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Iran's army said it targeted U.S. Patriot missile systems in Kuwait, an early-warning site in Qatar and a U.S. Army fuel depot in Bahrain. The Revolutionary Guards later said they had also fired ballistic missiles at Jordan's Azraq military base, which is used by U.S. forces, and at a U.S. military command centre in the region.
Kuwait said it intercepted a cruise missile, three ballistic missiles and 10 drones, with one person injured by falling shrapnel. Jordan said it intercepted eight missiles after sirens sounded across the country, with no injuries or damage reported.
The U.S. military said its strikes earlier this week were launched in response to Iranian attacks on three tankers near the Strait of Hormuz and were aimed at keeping the vital shipping lane open. It said the United States had helped facilitate the passage of more than 800 commercial vessels carrying about 380 million barrels of crude oil through the strait since early May, adding that Iran does not control the waterway. Reuters could not independently verify the claims made by either side.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards accused Washington of disrupting efforts to restore normal shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, saying traffic had recovered to about half of pre-war levels under what it described as Iranian supervision. It warned that any further U.S. intervention would draw a "crushing response."
Separately, Iranian media reported multiple explosions across southern Iran, including in Bushehr, Konarak, Choghadak and Bandar Abbas. A U.S. official told Reuters there had been no American strikes in recent hours.
Bushehr is home to Iran's Russian-built nuclear power plant. A local official later told Iranian state media that a U.S. projectile had struck the perimeter of the facility, an area that had previously been hit during the conflict.
The escalation coincided with the burial of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at a shrine in Mashhad after a week of funeral processions. Khamenei was killed in a U.S.-Israeli airstrike on February 28, the opening day of the war that triggered months of fighting, disrupted global energy supplies and left thousands dead, according to Reuters.
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Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi also held separate calls with counterparts from Turkey, Oman and Pakistan, with all sides stressing the need to prevent further military escalation and revive diplomatic efforts, according to Reuters.
