Escalation between USA and Iran: Attacks on military bases and blockade of the Strait of Hormuz

Iran's armed forces responded to the new US attacks, according to their own statements, with the complete blockade of the Strait of Hormuz as well as with counter-attacks on targets in the Gulf states of Bahrain and Kuwait. Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guards – the country's elite force – attacked, according to their own statements, among other things two US air bases in Kuwait and one in Bahrain. A total of 18 targets were attacked. Every ship attempting to pass the strait, which is important for oil and gas trade, would be attacked, according to a statement by the Iranian military command broadcast by state radio. The Iranian army reported that it had once again attacked the regional headquarters of the US Navy in Bahrain with kamikaze drones. The attack targeted Patriot-type air defense systems.

The US military had previously announced, according to its own statements, that it had begun new attacks on targets in Iran on the president's orders. The responsible regional command CENTCOM declared on the X platform that military reconnaissance facilities, communication systems and air defense positions throughout the country had been attacked. They had represented a threat to US armed forces and international merchant ships, it said further. "The attacks are a response to Iran's unjustified and ongoing aggression," Centcom wrote on X. The US military spoke, as in the previous night, of "self-defense strikes." According to CENTCOM, it was a response to the downing of a US combat helicopter, following which the US military had attacked air defense systems, ground control stations and radar facilities in Iran overnight into Wednesday.

Attacks on Iranian soil

In Iran, the attacks meanwhile struck home. Iranian state radio reported explosions in the commuter city of Karaj, located only a few kilometers from the metropolis of Tehran. As the Iranian news agency Irna and the radio station reported, explosions were observed near the cities of Minab and Sirik. Further detonations were reportedly heard on Qeshm Island and in the port city of Bandar Abbas. Iranian state media reported explosions in the area of several port cities along the southern coast. Two people were injured according to these reports. Social media also reported a wave of attacks near the capital, with combat drones spotted west of Karaj.

Impact on the Gulf region

In the Gulf states, the impact was also immediately felt. In Bahrain, an alarm was triggered, as the interior ministry of the Gulf state announced on X. Residents were called upon to remain calm and to go to the nearest safe place. The interior ministry spoke of a "criminal Iranian" attack. Falling debris from intercepted Iranian drones caused several vehicles to catch fire and residential buildings to be damaged in the city of Hammad and in the capital Manama. In Iranian attacks on the Gulf state of Bahrain, an eleven-year-old girl was slightly injured according to authorities. The Gulf state of Kuwait temporarily closed its airspace to civil aviation due to renewed shelling from Iran; incoming flights were diverted to alternative airports. Kuwait has since resumed flight operations, according to the country's civil aviation authority.

There were also direct naval battles in the conflict. According to Iranian state media, Iran's armed forces attacked US ships near the Strait of Hormuz with missiles and drones. Shortly afterwards, state radio already reported that two ships had been fired upon. The Mehr news agency reported naval battles between Iranian and US units. Following US airstrikes in the region, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard most recently also attacked US aircraft at the Al-Asrak base in Jordan with twelve ballistic missiles, according to its own statements. Previously, the US embassy in Jordan had warned of missiles, drones or projectiles in Jordanian airspace.

The conflict also claimed victims among civilian sailors. In a US attack on a tanker sailing under the flag of Palau, three Indian citizens were killed. The death of the three sailors, who were initially reported missing, has now been confirmed. Indian Shipping Minister Sarbananda Sonowal pointed to two bodies that had been found. The USA had justified the shelling of the tanker "Settebello" with the fact that it had violated the US naval blockade against Iran and had attempted to transport oil out of Iran.

Economic consequences and naval battles

Despite the military escalation, the parties to the conflict are evidently striving to prevent the conflict from spiraling completely out of control. The US military has, according to its own statements, halted its renewed attacks on targets in Iran. US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said it was not about starting the war again. Rather, they wanted to create the conditions for an agreement with Iran. Trump also declared that Israel was not involved in the current attacks on Iran. The USA and Iran had previously exchanged heavy fire with each other for the second consecutive night – meaning that the conflict is dangerously escalating despite the ceasefire that has been in place for two months. Trump called the ceasefire "the most frequently broken ceasefire in the history of the world."

The economic consequences are already being felt. The prices for North Sea Brent and US oil WTI rose on Wednesday by a peak of 2.6 and four percent respectively to 95.50 and 93.64 dollars per barrel. The Strait of Hormuz is of great importance to the global economy as an export route for fertilizer, oil and liquid gas. CENTCOM declared on X that merchant ships continue to enter and leave the Strait of Hormuz tonight – Iranian state media called this claim false.