The Kabul Tribune (KT) — Reuters has reported that the United States and Iran exchanged a new wave of military strikes, significantly escalating tensions across the Middle East as Tehran said it targeted U.S. military facilities in the Gulf and announced the closure of the strategic Strait of Hormuz.
According to Reuters, the latest round of hostilities
follows continued exchanges of airstrikes between the two countries, raising
fresh concerns over the future of a temporary U.S.-Iran agreement reached last
month that aimed to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and end the conflict after 60
days of negotiations.
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it
launched missile and drone attacks against U.S.-linked military targets in
Bahrain and Jordan in response to what it described as U.S. aggression.
Reuters reported that the IRGC said it struck the Sheikh Isa
Air Base in Bahrain during the second phase of its retaliatory operation.
Although the headquarters of the U.S. Fifth Fleet is located in Bahrain, it is
not based at Sheikh Isa. However, the base has hosted U.S. military aircraft
and operations.
Emergency sirens sounded in Bahrain early Monday, shortly
after Iran announced the attack, prompting heightened security concerns across
the Gulf.
Iran also claimed it targeted Jordan's Prince Hassan Air
Base, saying missile and drone strikes ignited fuel storage tanks and weapons
depots at the facility, which it said is used by the U.S. military. Jordan has
not immediately confirmed the claims.
Meanwhile, Reuters reported that an Iranian official said
recent U.S. strikes hit an agricultural water pumping station in Mahshahr, in
Iran's southwestern Khuzestan province. According to the official, one person
was killed and four others were injured in the attack.
Tehran also said it had closed the Strait of Hormuz after
accusing the United States of carrying out another attack following an alleged
Iranian strike on a commercial vessel. The closure threatens one of the world's
most important maritime energy routes and has heightened concerns over global
oil supplies.
U.S. President Donald Trump said Washington would continue
its military campaign against Iran. "We're beating them up," Trump
told Reuters in a telephone interview on Sunday.
The renewed fighting has further undermined hopes of
preserving the interim agreement reached last month between Washington and
Tehran, increasing fears of a broader regional conflict.
