An Iranian government spokesperson on Wednesday said more than 30 civilians were killed in US air strikes targeting the country’s southern region in “recent days”. Tehran was quick to retaliate with Jordan, Kuwait and Bahrain all reporting attacks. The strike exchanges come as the US naval blockade on Iranian ports resumed. Follow our liveblog for the latest updates.
Bahrain says its air defences intercepted and destroyed several Iranian aerial strikes
Drone comes down in Iraq’s Faw port, state news agency says
A drone came down in Iraq’s Faw port without causing any damage, the state news agency reported on Wednesday, without giving further details.
Israel imprisons soldier for sending missile intercept videos to Iranian agent
The Israeli military said on Wednesday it had sentenced an active-duty soldier to five years in prison for sending videos of missile interceptions to an Iranian agent.
The soldier sent two such videos during the 12-day war with Iran in June last year and “received payment for them,” the military said. It added that he had also shared several videos filmed in civilian locations with the Iranian agent.
US strikes killed seven military personnel in southeast Iran, says Iranian army
At least seven personnel were killed in US strikes on an Iranian military base in Bampur overnight, Iran’s army said on Wednesday, according to the semi-official Tasnim news agency.
The army said the strikes were intended to cause maximum casualties, with 13 missiles hitting a guesthouse, guard posts and accommodation facilities at the base near the southeastern city of Iranshahr.
It added that a number of personnel were also wounded and promised a “decisive response” to the attack.
More than 30 people killed in US air strikes targeting Iran in ‘recent days’, Iranian govt spokesperson says
Iranian state media says Bushehr targeted again by US strikes
Fresh US strikes hit Iran’s southern port city of Bushehr, home to the country’s only civilian nuclear plant, state news agency IRNA reported on Wednesday.
“The American enemy attacked three locations in Bushehr today,” the city governor, Mohammad Mozafari told IRNA, the day after another attack as Washington and Tehran stepped up their military confrontation.
Iranian health ministry says 260 people wounded in latest US strikes without giving fatality figures
Iran state media says US strike hit a wheat storage silo in western city of Hoveyzeh
Jordan’s military says it downed three missiles from Iran
Jordan’s army said Wednesday it had shot down three missiles from Iran, as Tehran pressed attacks on US allies in response to American strikes.
“Air defence systems intercepted and shot down three ballistic missiles at dawn on Wednesday after they entered Jordanian airspace from Iranian territory,” the army said in a statement, adding that there were no casualties or material damage.
Iran Guards say they have targeted the US Fifth Fleet in Bahrain
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said on Wednesday it had targeted what it described as command-and-control, logistics, fuel and military equipment facilities belonging to the US Fifth Fleet in Bahrain.
This was in response to what it said were US actions in the Indian Ocean and efforts to control the Strait of Hormuz and restrict shipping routes.
The Guards warned that if Washington sought to block the region’s oil and gas exports by controlling maritime routes, other export routes serving US and allied interests could also be closed, saying regional energy exports would be “for everyone or for no one”.
Earlier on Wednesday, Bahrain’s Interior Ministry said air raid sirens had sounded and urged residents to remain calm and seek shelter.
US military’s Central Command says it has ended the latest round of strikes on Iran
Iran Guards say Hormuz to remain closed until US ends ‘acts of aggression’
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said on Wednesday the Strait of Hormuz would remain closed until the United States ends its “acts of aggression”, while warning that other regional oil export routes could also become targets.
“The enemy should know that now that its maritime raiders have blocked the Indian Ocean route for oil and gas exports to the world – thereby endangering the interests of America’s economic rivals – it should also expect the closure of other oil and gas export routes that serve the interests of the United States and its allies,” the statement said.
They did not elaborate on which routes could be affected.
“Oil and gas exports from the region will either be available for everyone or for no one,” they added.
In a separate statement, the Guards said: “The retaliatory operations of the fighters will continue, and the Strait of Hormuz will remain closed until the United States ends its acts of aggression.”
Iran says it attacked US targets in Jordan and Kuwait
Iranian state television reported on Wednesday that Iran’s army and the Revolutionary Guards carried out separate attacks on US targets in Jordan and Kuwait after US forces struck the Islamic republic.
The army said it targeted the Al-Azraq base in Jordan with drones, state TV IRIB reported. Separately, the Guards said they fired cruise missiles at a US military logistics centre at Mina Abdullah in Kuwait, stressing that the Strait of Hormuz would remain closed “until the United States ends its acts of aggression”.
Kuwait intercepts Iranian drone attacks
Kuwait’s military said it was intercepting Iranian attack drones, while Bahrain activated air raid sirens after the United States carried out more strikes against Iran.
“Kuwaiti air defences are currently engaging hostile drone attacks following the nefarious Iranian aggression,” the Kuwaiti army said. Bahrain’s interior ministry urged citizens and residents to remain calm and head to the nearest safe place.
Air raid sirens activated in Bahrain
Bahrain sounded an air raid siren, the interior ministry said on Wednesday, after the United States carried out strikes against Iran and reimposed its naval blockade.
“The siren has been sounded,” the interior ministry said on X. “Citizens and residents are urged to remain calm and head to the nearest safe place.”
Oil prices rise as US-Iran tensions disrupt Strait of Hormuz
Oil rose on Wednesday as President Donald Trump reimposed a naval blockade on all Iranian ports and Iran launched retaliatory strikes on US infrastructure in the region.
For the second straight session, Brent closed at its highest since June 12 and West Texas Intermediate at its highest since June 15 and rose further in early Wednesday trade.
Brent rose $1.46, or 1.72%, to $86.19 a barrel by 0029 GMT, while WTI was up $1.11, or 1.4%, to $80.40 a barrel.
Oil prices closed up 2% to a one-month high on Tuesday as attacks deepened a supply disruption in the Strait of Hormuz, where some one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas transited prior to the beginning of the war.
Early on Wednesday, the US also began a fresh round of strikes “to continue degrading Iranian capabilities used to attack commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz,” the US military said.
US reimposes Iran port blockade, sparking retaliatory strikes
The US military early Wednesday reimposed a blockade on Iranian ports over Tehran’s attacks on ships trying to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, sparking new strikes on nations hosting American forces as an interim deal to end the war further unravelled.
Days of retaliatory strikes across the Middle East by Iran – and both nations’ attempts to vie for control of the waterway through which a fifth of the world’s oil and natural gas passes during peacetime – threaten to push the region back to all-out war.
The US first imposed the blockade in mid-April and then lifted it in mid-June, a day after signing the interim deal that set a 60-day period for negotiations over issues like Iran’s nuclear programme, but talks have stalled as fighting over the strait has intensified.
Welcome to the France 24 liveblog covering events in the Middle East. Catch up on yesterday’s developments here.
• US President Donald Trump announced a reversal of his plan to charge a 20% toll on cargo passing through the Strait of Hormuz, saying he would instead seek investment deals with Gulf states.
• The US military conducted strikes against Iran for a fourth day in response to Tehran’s attacks on commercial ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz.
