U.S. and Iran exchange intensifying airstrikes across Middle East, threatening ceasefire deal
United States launched new strikes Thursday targeting 90 targets across Iran; Tehran responded with missiles to Persian Gulf countries including Kuwait and Qatar.
The day's top stories, food & events — every morning at 7. Unsubscribe anytime.
The United States launched new airstrikes against Iran early Thursday, and Tehran responded by targeting U.S.-allied countries across the Middle East in an escalation that threatened a fragile interim deal intended to help end the regional war.
The U.S. military's Central Command said it struck approximately 90 targets across Iran, releasing footage of strikes on airport runways and missile launchers. The strikes were intended to "further degrade" Iran's ability "to threaten freedom of navigation" in the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world's traded oil and natural gas passed before the war began with U.S. and Israeli attacks February 28.
Thursday's strikes were the largest back-and-forth exchange in days. Sirens sounded at least three times in Bahrain, home to the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet headquarters, and missiles targeted Kuwait and Qatar. Sirens also sounded Thursday afternoon in Jordan, where the U.S. has stationed troops and aircraft.
An Iranian official accused the U.S. of targeting the area around Iran's sole nuclear power plant in Bushehr. Iranian state media reported explosions in several locations including port cities and Khuzestan province, where at least three people were killed. The deaths followed at least nine members of Iran's armed forces killed in Wednesday strikes. Iran's Health Ministry said Thursday's strikes have killed at least 14 people and wounded another 78.
U.S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday that recent Iranian attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz signaled the end of the ceasefire and threatened to escalate further if they did not stop. That raised concerns the region could tip back into a full-scale war that would halt energy shipments crucial for the global economy and push prices on basic goods far beyond the region.
Kuwait said it shot down three ballistic missiles, a cruise missile, and 10 drones, with falling debris wounding one person. Bahrain said it shot down incoming fire. For the first time since April, U.S. strikes also appeared to target Iranian bridges, with state media reporting strikes on a railway bridge in Golestan province and two bridges on the route to Mashhad.
