Iran launched a fresh wave of missile and drone attacks on US allies across the Persian Gulf on Tuesday, hitting Kuwait, Bahrain, and Jordan as the conflict entered its 10th consecutive day and showed no sign of stopping.
Air raid sirens sounded across Kuwait early Tuesday morning after Iranian missiles and drones targeted US-linked facilities and key infrastructure in the emirate. “Kuwaiti Air Defenses are currently responding to hostile missile and drone threats,” the Kuwaiti Army said in an official statement. “The General Staff of the Army notes that if explosion sounds are heard, they are the result of the air defense systems intercepting the hostile attacks.”
Kuwait declined to release immediate casualty figures or a damage assessment.
The attacks came hours after US Central Command announced it had completed another round of airstrikes against Iranian targets, following the deaths of four American service members over the weekend. CENTCOM said it hit “Iranian military command centers, maritime capabilities, missile and drone launch sites and air defense systems,” releasing new video footage of the strikes.
President Trump had warned directly after the latest US troop deaths. “Every time Iran kills an American Soldier they will pay for that killing many times over!” he posted on social media Monday.
Earlier in the day, Iran attacked a tanker in the Strait of Hormuz, forcing its crew to abandon ship. The strait, through which roughly a fifth of all global crude oil and natural gas once passed in peacetime, has slowed to near-gridlock. Lloyd’s List Intelligence reported only three ships transited the waterway Tuesday amid the ongoing fighting.
The economic pressure is reaching American wallets. Benchmark Brent crude traded Tuesday at nearly $90 a barrel. US average gas prices hit $4 a gallon.
Diplomatic efforts are still moving. Iran’s Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni arrived in Pakistan on Tuesday to meet with Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. Pakistan helped broker the interim ceasefire agreement last month that has since collapsed, and Islamabad is working to get both sides back to the table.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Sunday the US remains open to negotiations, but only if they are “real.” Whether Tehran will offer anything Trump would consider real remains unclear.
The State Department issued a new security warning to Americans, cautioning that “Iran and groups supportive of Iran may target other US interests overseas or at locations associated with the United States and Americans throughout the world.”
Yemen’s Houthi rebels added another front Tuesday, announcing a planned naval blockade targeting Saudi Arabia while renewing threats to commercial shipping throughout the region.
