Iran strikes US bases in Bahrain, Kuwait after US attacks, oil sanctions; crude jumps

Iran launched missiles and drones at US military facilities in Bahrain and Kuwait early Wednesday after American forces struck more than 80 targets across the Islamic Republic and Washington reimposed sanctions on Iranian oil exports.

The latest exchange has cast fresh doubt over a fragile ceasefire reached after weeks of fighting, while threatening disruption to one of the world's most critical oil shipping routes.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it had fired missiles and drones at 85 US military sites across Bahrain and Kuwait in retaliation for overnight US attacks.

In a statement carried on its Telegram channel, the IRGC said a joint operation by its aerospace and naval forces targeted Bahrain's Salman Port, where the US Navy's Fifth Fleet is based, and Kuwait's Ali Al Salem Air Base, along with other American military facilities.

Kuwait's military said its air defenses were responding to "hostile missile and drone threats" and warned residents they might hear explosions as interception systems engaged incoming targets. It urged the public to follow official safety instructions.

In Bahrain, the Interior Ministry said warning sirens had sounded and asked residents to remain calm and move to the nearest safe place.

The retaliation followed a new wave of US strikes overnight Tuesday into Wednesday that targeted more than 80 sites across Iran.

US Central Command said American forces hit Iranian air defense systems, command-and-control networks, coastal radar sites, anti-ship missile capabilities and more than 60 Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps small boats operating in and around the Strait of Hormuz.

The strikes were intended to "degrade Iran's ability to continue attacking international commerce flowing through the international trade corridor," CENTCOM said.

Washington said the attacks were launched after Iran targeted three commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz despite an existing ceasefire.

"The US strikes are in response to Iranian attacks on three commercial vessels that were transiting the Strait of Hormuz," CENTCOM said. "Iran's demonstrated aggression was unwarranted, dangerous, and a clear violation of the ceasefire."

The military added that US forces "remain postured and prepared to hold Iran accountable" if Tehran failed to comply with the agreement.

Hours before launching its retaliatory strikes, Iran warned it would respond forcefully.

"The Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran will deliver a crushing response to the U.S. aggression and terrorist action," Iran's Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters said in a statement carried by state broadcaster IRIB.

The command also declared that it would "under no circumstances" allow interference in the management of the Strait of Hormuz and said the "only safe passage" through the waterway was via routes designated by Iran.

The Strait of Hormuz carries roughly one-fifth of the world's seaborne oil trade, making any threat to shipping there a major concern for global energy markets.

The United States also revoked a temporary license that had allowed Iran to openly sell crude oil on international markets under an interim understanding linked to the ceasefire.

The sanctions relief, announced by the Treasury Department after the truce, had suspended restrictions on Iranian oil sales for 60 days and was intended to encourage compliance with the agreement and facilitate the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.

The temporary easing had allowed Iran, for the first time in years, to openly market its crude in US dollars, helping increase traffic through the Strait of Hormuz and contributing to a decline in global oil prices in recent weeks.

A Treasury Department notice issued Tuesday said the earlier authorisation had now been "revoked and superseded in its entirety."

Buyers of Iranian crude have until July 17 to wind down transactions already in progress.

The administration did not indicate how long the sanctions would remain in place or under what conditions they could be lifted again.

A US official said Iran would benefit from sanctions relief only if it demonstrated "good behavior."

"Iran's actions in the Strait were wholly unacceptable to the United States and will be met with consequences," the official said.

Iran condemned the move, accusing Washington of abandoning commitments made under the interim agreement.

Iran's top negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said the United States had violated the memorandum of understanding between the two countries.

"The era of bullying and extortion is over," Ghalibaf wrote on X. "We don't fold."

Brent crude, the international benchmark, rose about 3% to around $76 a barrel, while US benchmark West Texas Intermediate surged nearly 6%, climbing back above $70 a barrel for the first time since June 30, as traders weighed the risk of further disruption to oil supplies passing through the Gulf.

Meanwhile, Iranian state media reported explosions on Kharg Island, the country's main oil export terminal that typically handles about 90% of Iran's crude exports, as well as on Qeshm Island near the Strait of Hormuz, following the US strikes.