DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The United States launched a second round of airstrikes on Iran into Thursday morning after U.S. President Donald Trump warned that Tehran would “pay the price” for stalled negotiations, and Iran responded with strikes targeting Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan.
The new U.S. assault across multiple Iranian cities came as efforts to negotiate an end the war again appeared stuck, with Iran insisting it would maintain its chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz, which has disrupted global energy supplies and sent oil prices higher. The American attack appeared more intense and wider than the day before, but Iran released little information on the extent of the damage.
Kuwait closed its airspace for several hours because of the Thursday morning attack, but did not elaborate on any damage. Jordan said it intercepted 20 Iranian missiles fired toward an area that is home to an air base hosting U.S. troops, though no one was hurt.
And in Bahrain, the Interior Ministry said an 11-year-old girl had been hurt and cars and homes were damaged by “falling debris” from interceptions responding to the Iranian attack.
The third back-and-forth strikes this week have tested a two-month shaky ceasefire. The first were attacks between Iran and Israel on Sunday into Monday, followed by the two rounds of fire between America and Tehran. Meanwhile, an Indian official confirmed Thursday that a U.S. attack on an oil tanker allegedly trying to violate the Iran blockade killed three Indian mariners, showing the danger to seafarers.
Trump has urged Iran to sign a deal to end the war and suggested earlier this week that an agreement could be reached in days.
But Iran has proved resilient despite weeks of heavy bombing. It is betting that its ability to effectively close the Strait of Hormuz — a crucial passageway for oil and natural gas — gives it a strong bargaining chip.
Still, both countries seem to be looking for a way to end the conflict — if they can manage to sell it as a win at home.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also appears intent on pursuing goals that make compromise harder: the collapse of Iran’s theocratic government, the elimination of its nuclear program, and the destruction of the Iranian-allied Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon.
US strikes Iran and Iran fires back at Gulf states
The U.S. Central Command said its latest round of airstrikes ended just before sunrise Thursday in Iran. The military command said the strikes came “in response to Iran’s unwarranted and continued aggression” and targeted “Iranian military surveillance capabilities, communication systems and air defense sites.” It did not elaborate on the damage done by the strikes, which it said were carried out by the U.S. Air Force, Marines and Navy.
Explosions from the strikes echoed around Iran’s capital, Tehran, as well as the port city of Bandar Abbas and other southern areas along the Strait of Hormuz. Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard later said sites hit by the Americans included a manufacturing complex, a military barracks and a local Guard base outside of Tehran.
Israel early Thursday also warned residents in the country’s north to seek shelter after the detection of suspected incoming fire from Lebanon.
Trump says US is sneaking oil past the Strait of Hormuz
Since the U.S. and Israel started the war with Feb. 28 attacks on Iran, the conflict has shaken the global economy, driven up energy prices and made food and other basics more expensive.
The international benchmark for crude oil traded above $93 a barrel on Wednesday, up more than 25% since the start of the war.
Trump said the U.S. military has since last month undertaken a “secret mission” to sneak oil shipments past Iran’s forces in the Strait of Hormuz. He said ships were slipping through at night, aided by the destruction of Iranian radar equipment.