Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced on Wednesday that it had launched a combined missile and drone operation against 85 US military installations in Bahrain and Kuwait, including the US Fifth Fleet headquarters in Bahrain and Ali Al Salem airbase in Kuwait. The IRGC also claimed to have shot down an American MQ-9 Reaper drone that attempted to interfere. The strikes, which triggered air-raid sirens in both Gulf states and prompted Kuwaiti air defences to intercept incoming projectiles, were described by Tehran as an “initial response” to overnight US airstrikes on Iranian coastal bases and civilian areas in Hormozgan and Mahshahr provinces.

The US Central Command (CENTCOM) stated that its forces had struck more than 80 targets in Iran, including air-defence systems, coastal radar sites, anti-ship missiles, and over 60 IRGC fast-attack craft, in retaliation for what it called “unjustified aggression” by Iran against three commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz. The ships included a Qatari LNG carrier, a Saudi-flagged tanker, and a Liberian-flagged vessel. Qatar’s foreign ministry held Iran “fully responsible” for the attack on its ship, calling it an unacceptable violation of international maritime law. From Tehran, the IRGC accused Washington of violating the June memorandum of understanding (MoU) and of timing its strikes to distract from the mass funeral processions for former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who was killed in the opening US-Israeli strikes on 28 February. Iran’s parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, wrote on social media that the US had also breached the deal by reimposing oil sanctions and failing to respect Iranian “adjustments” in the strait, declaring that “the era of intimidation and extortion is over.”

The exchange of fire has effectively shattered the 14-point MoU signed in June, which had paused the war, reopened the Strait of Hormuz to limited traffic, and provided for a 60-day negotiation window. In a parallel move, Washington revoked a temporary licence that had allowed Iran to export crude oil, ordering a wind-down of transactions by 17 July; oil prices rose more than 3 per cent on the news. The strait, through which a significant share of global energy supplies passes, remains the central point of friction. Iranian military commands have insisted that only routes designated by Tehran are safe, while the US demands unrestricted freedom of navigation. Kuwait and Bahrain, both hosts to major US bases, have urged residents to seek shelter, and regional Gulf states have raised military alert levels.

The war began on 28 February when the US and Israel launched coordinated strikes after Khamenei’s death. The MoU, brokered with Swiss and Qatari mediation, included commitments on nuclear non-proliferation and a $300bn reconstruction programme for Iran, but left the most contentious issues—permanent strait access and Iran’s nuclear programme—for final-status talks. Those indirect negotiations, held in Qatar, ended last week without progress. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi has warned that talks on a definitive agreement will not begin while the US maintains threats of renewed bombardment. The funeral of Khamenei is set to conclude with burial in Mashhad on 9 July, a moment that some diplomats had hoped would open space for de-escalation. Instead, the region faces a renewed cycle of military action with no immediate diplomatic off-ramp.