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Retaliation Across the Gulf
Iran launched retaliatory military operations after US strikes targeting civilian infrastructure, with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Iran’s armed forces separately announcing actions across the Gulf region including Qatar, Kuwait, Jordan, Oman and Syria.
“Tehran launched strikes against several countries across the Gulf and the wider region overnight as the United States military stepped up its attacks on Iran”
ANI News said Iran’s Army’s Navy fired coast-to-sea cruise missiles at what it described as an "aggressor" US vessel in the northern Indian Ocean as part of the thirteenth phase of the Army's "Operation Lightning," and claimed the strike forced the vessel to move out of range.
ANI News also reported the IRGC Aerospace Force carried out the 16th wave of "Operation Nasr 2," targeting the US Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, claiming it destroyed a long-range radar system and several US strategic aerial refuelling aircraft while seriously damaging others.
The IRGC also claimed, during the 15th phase of Operation Nasr 2, that its Ground Force struck US military positions in Kuwait, destroying a HIMARS launcher and missiles, while ANI News said Iran’s retaliatory strikes came after the US targeted civilian infrastructure in Iran.
Al Jazeera reported that Tehran launched strikes against several countries across the Gulf and wider region overnight as the United States military stepped up its attacks on Iran, and said Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar, as well as Jordan and Syria, had been forced to take defensive action against Iranian missiles and drones.
Competing Claims and Denials
The IRGC claimed responsibility for strikes against US military assets across the region, including an attack on the US Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, while the Qatari authorities had not commented on the Iranian claims, according to Anadolu Ajansı.
Anadolu Ajansı said the IRGC claimed its Aerospace Force carried out a "surprise and powerful" attack on Al Udeid Air Base, saying it completely destroyed a long-range radar system and several US strategic aerial refueling aircraft.
Al Jazeera said the escalating US air campaign targeted civilian infrastructure in the south of Iran on Thursday night into Friday, including telecommunications networks, railway systems, and the Bandar-e Khamir bridge in Hormozgan province, and reported that Iranian media said at least eight people were killed in the latest attacks.
Al Jazeera also reported that the IRGC claimed it struck Al Udeid Air Base, and that neither the US nor Qatar confirmed whether it was struck by Tehran.
In Syria, Al Jazeera said the IRGC claimed to have attacked a US special operations command centre at the al-Tanf military base, and that in a post on X later on Friday, US Central Command (CENTCOM) rejected the claim as “false.”
Economic and Regional Stakes
Iran’s conflict with the United States also spilled into economic and infrastructure threats, with PressTV warning that if Washington continued striking Iranian bridges and transportation infrastructure, it would destroy “the most important industrial, information technology, and artificial intelligence assets of companies with American shareholders throughout the region, wherever they may be,”.
“Iran says it targeted US Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claims attack destroyed US radar system and strategic aerial refueling aircraft Mohammad Sio 17 July 2026•Update: 17 July 2026 ISTANBUL Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on Friday said that it carried out an attack on the US Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, claiming it destroyed a long-range radar system and several US aerial refueling aircraft”
PressTV further asserted that “all countries in the region that host US military bases are complicit in Washington’s war crimes” against the Islamic Republic, linking regional basing decisions to Iran’s threatened retaliation.
In parallel, Al Jazeera described how hostilities were threatening to spread across the region and curb the global economy, while efforts to convince Washington and Tehran to return to negotiations were accelerating.
Al Jazeera said China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Pakistani counterpart Ishaq Dar called on Friday for an immediate ceasefire and the resumption of dialogue, hoping to save the tentative ceasefire agreed upon last month.
ANI News reported that US forces on Thursday launched a fresh wave of military strikes against Iran, marking the sixth consecutive night of operations against the Islamic Republic, and said CENTCOM described the attack as aimed at further degrading Iran's military capabilities amid the Strait of Hormuz dispute.
