The US has launched new airstrikes against Iran, hours after Donald Trump threatened to escalate the conflict unless Iran stopped attacking ships in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran, which was burying its former supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, on Thursday, responded by targeting US-allied Kuwait and Qatar and accused the US of striking near its sole nuclear power plant.
Officials in Iran said strikes targeted the perimeter of the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant in Bushehr province, an area with an active working reactor. “Several areas in Bushehr province were targeted today, including the perimeter of the nuclear power plant, a military base in the town of Choghadak and a fishing pier in the south of the province,” said Ehsan Jahanian, the deputy governor of Bushehr, adding there were no reports of casualties so far. The UN’s nuclear watchdog had previously warned that attacks near the plant could “pose a very real danger to nuclear safety.”
“Iran accuses US of striking near its sole nuclear plant Iran's deputy governor confirms strikes on Bushehr perimeter.”
The tit-for-tat strikes were the largest since Tehran and Washington signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on 17 June aimed at extending the ceasefire and giving space for negotiations for a permanent truce. They came as Israel’s defence minister, Israel Katz, said his country was prepared to resume its military campaign against Iran if needed, threatening to do so “with even greater force.”
Sirens sounded at least three times in Bahrain, where the US navy’s fifth fleet is headquartered. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it fired 10 ballistic missiles at Jordan’s Azraq military base on Thursday afternoon, which the US air force uses. There were no immediate reports of any damage in Jordan or the Gulf.
The attacks came hours after Trump said the MoU was “over” because of Iranian attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz. After the strikes, the US president posted videos of explosions in Iran and threatened the country once again. “This is in retribution for yesterday’s bombing of ships by Iran. If it happens again, it will get much worse!” Trump wrote on Truth Social. Later, speaking to reporters on board Air Force One, Trump described a massive retaliation, saying: “We just hit him very hard. Every time they hit us we’re going to hit them 20 to one.” US forces said they hit about 90 targets overnight. Iran retaliated with strikes on Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar.
Iran’s state media reported that the attacks killed 14 people and injured 78 others. Trump’s comments and the exchange of fire prompted worries that the ceasefire could break down and raised concerns about the long-term prospect for peace in the region.
