The United States conducted strikes against Iran early Sunday morning in response to an Iranian attack on a container ship in the Strait of Hormuz. The strike set the vessel ablaze and forced its crew to abandon ship. In apparent retaliation, Iran subsequently targeted Bahrain, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates.
The U.S. military’s Central Command stated it struck approximately 140 targets, including missile and drone launch sites, ammunition dumps, and communication equipment. These actions, the command said, "degrade Iran’s ability to attack civilian mariners and commercial vessels freely transiting the strait."
This escalation follows recent suggestions by U.S. President Donald Trump that an interim deal in the ongoing war with Iran was "over." Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth commented, "Iran made a poor choice. Now they pay."
Explosions were heard in Qatar, and a missile alert sounded shortly thereafter, with Qatar's military confirming it intercepted incoming fire. Missile alerts also sounded in Bahrain, which hosts the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet. The extent of the attacks on the UAE was not immediately clear. Previous Iranian attacks on the UAE in May included a drone strike that ignited a fire near the country's sole nuclear power plant.
The Cyprus-flagged container ship attacked in the Strait of Hormuz sustained "significant engineroom damage," and a civilian crew member is reported missing, according to U.S. Central Command. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center reported the vessel was traveling close to the Omani coastline, a route used to navigate the Persian Gulf while avoiding Iranian territorial waters.
Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard claimed multiple vessels had "disregarded our warnings and instructions to correct their course and proceed along the approved route," and that one "was struck by a warning shot and brought to a stop." Iran has stated that the strait would remain closed "until further notice" and indicated it would consider targeting "additional enemy bases in the region" if further attacks occurred.
Iranian state media reported that U.S. strikes targeted Bandar Abbas and Sirik, as well as other areas along the strait's shores. No immediate information on casualties or damage in Iran was provided.
The recent hostilities occurred after Iranian and Omani foreign ministers met on Saturday to discuss the Strait of Hormuz. The strait, situated within the territorial waters of both Iran and Oman, has long been considered an international waterway. Oman stated that discussions would continue "at the technical and political levels," but Iran did not commit to the strait being open to all traffic, a U.S. objective.
Separately, Iran's new supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, vowed that Iranians would avenge the killing of his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in the war's opening strikes on February 28. He stated that such revenge "is the will of our nation and must certainly be carried out."
U.S. officials have suggested that recent Iranian strikes may have been orchestrated by a rogue faction of hard-liners attempting to sabotage a ceasefire. Iran maintains that its leadership is unified under the new supreme leader. Following U.S. strikes last week, additional attacks reportedly hit Iran, raising questions about the identity of the perpetrators. While Israel has not claimed responsibility, Gulf Arab states may have been involved in an effort to deter Iranian aggression. Iran had previously retaliated for U.S. strikes by targeting Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, and Qatar.
According to Iran's Health Ministry spokesperson, Hossein Kermanpour, the two rounds of strikes in Iran last week resulted in at least 17 deaths and 115 injuries.