IRAN has launched drone and missile attacks targeting Bahrain and Kuwait in response to recent US airstrikes on the Islamic Republic, marking a sharp escalation in regional tensions and threatening already fragile ceasefire negotiations.
The attacks come amid growing disputes over maritime access routes in the Strait of Hormuz, a critical global shipping chokepoint, and renewed confrontation over who should control navigation through the strategic waterway.
Iranian officials have also warned that negotiations to end the conflict could be halted entirely if Washington continues military operations.
“Any interference in this matter, any attempt to establish new or separate arrangements from those currently being carried out by the Islamic Republic of Iran, will only lead to further complications, delay the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, and increase the level of tension, just as over the past two nights we witnessed incidents in the Strait of Hormuz that led to an increase in tension and confrontation,” AP reported Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi saying during a visit to Iraq.
The escalation follows efforts backed by a multinational maritime body overseen by the US Navy to expand an alternative shipping route near Oman, which Tehran has opposed. Iran insists it retains sovereign control over the narrow strait connecting the Persian Gulf to the Arabian Sea.
In Kuwait, the military said its air defences intercepted incoming Iranian drones and ballistic missiles shortly after the US strikes, with no casualties or damage reported. Bahrain, meanwhile, confirmed damage to a residential building near its international airport, though no deaths were reported.
Bahrain’s Interior Ministry described the attack as “a dangerous escalation” and accused Tehran of a “systematic pattern of repeated aggression against the sovereignty of the kingdom.”
The developments come amid ongoing US–Iran exchanges of military action and accusations of ceasefire violations, including strikes on Iranian military infrastructure and retaliatory attacks at sea.
US officials said recent operations targeted Iranian surveillance systems, air defence sites and drone facilities, while warning that further escalation could undermine efforts to finalise a 60-day interim peace framework currently under negotiation.
In a social media post, former US President Donald Trump warned that continued Iranian violations could prompt further military action, saying Washington may be forced to “militarily complete the job,” adding: “If that happens, the Islamic Republic of Iran will no longer exist.”
The Strait of Hormuz, through which a significant portion of global oil and gas shipments passes, remains at the centre of the crisis, with competing claims over navigation routes now emerging as a major flashpoint in the wider conflict. - June 28, 2026
