Iran Launches Attacks on Bahrain and Kuwait After US Strikes Near Strait of Hormuz

Iran launched attacks on Bahrain and Kuwait after the United States struck five Iranian targets, escalating tensions and threatening the fragile ceasefire agreed by the two sides earlier this month.

“Iran has launched attacks on Bahrain and Kuwait after the United States struck five Iranian targets, escalating tensions and threatening the fragile ceasefire agreed by the two sides earlier this month”

Al Jazeera

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) confirmed the attacks on Sunday, saying it launched ballistic missiles and drones at the US Ali Al Salem airbase in Kuwait and the US Fifth Naval Fleet at Port Salman in Bahrain.

Al Jazeera

US Central Command (CENTCOM) said its navy and air force “conducted strikes tonight on 10 Iranian military targets at multiple locations in and near the Strait of Hormuz,” and said the attacks were a response to an Iranian drone attack on the Kiku oil tanker.

The weekend violence came after the US struck Iran on Friday following drone attacks on vessels near the Strait of Hormuz, and Iran did not attend technical talks scheduled for Sunday, with Mehdi Fazaeili telling state TV that Tehran was still assessing whether Washington had fulfilled its commitments.

Al Jazeera’s Resul Serdar Atas, reporting from Tehran, said the Strait of Hormuz is “almost the only leverage that Iran has in the ongoing negotiations.”

The dispute is being framed around Article 5 of the US-Iran memorandum of understanding (MoU), which both sides interpret differently as the Strait of Hormuz faces renewed attacks.

Article 5 requires Iran to facilitate the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and ensure the safe passage of commercial shipping after months of disruption, including “no charge, for 60 days only,” and it also calls for Iran to remove technical and military obstacles within 30 days.

Al-Jazeera Net

Iran maintains that the management of the Strait rests fully with it, insisting on a corridor close to its mainland and opposing any alternative routes nearer Oman, while the United States is described as pushing for broader coordination involving Oman and international maritime agencies.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned, “Any attempt to adopt new or separate arrangements will lead to more complicated situations and delays in reopening the Strait of Hormuz,” and Hassan Ahmadian, an associate professor at the University of Tehran, said, “The United States wants different arrangements in place as opposed to the MoU that it itself signed.”

News18 and Hindustan Times both tie the escalation to the same clause, describing the latest exchange as a test of Article 5’s implementation before the 60-day period ends.

The renewed strikes have widened the regional impact beyond the US and Iran, with Bahrain condemning Iranian drone attacks and the United Arab Emirates calling the attacks on Kuwait and Bahrain a “blatant violation” of sovereignty.

“Switzerland confirms that US-Iran talks will not take place on Friday after Vance's visit was postponed”

BBC

Jordan called the attacks a “dangerous escalation, and a blatant breach of international law and the United Nations Charter,” while Oman’s foreign ministry said it “renews its rejection of all actions that threaten the security and stability of the region,” urging restraint and dialogue.

In the background of the maritime dispute, the United States and Iran each accused the other of violating the interim agreement reached two weeks ago, and Britain’s UKMTO said a tanker hit in the Strait of Hormuz had sustained damage to its bridge with all crew reported safe.

The U.S. response and Iran’s retaliation have also been linked to the ceasefire’s wider context, with Reuters reporting that Iran accused the United States of failing to uphold the interim agreement, in particular by failing to sustain a promised ceasefire in Lebanon.

For shipping and energy, the stakes are immediate: the Indian Express said the renewed violence threatens to derail negotiations aimed at reaching a permanent US-Iran agreement and raises fresh concerns over shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, “through which nearly one-fifth of the world’s seaborne oil passes.”