Escalation in the Gulf: Iranian Revolutionary Guards attack US bases in Bahrain and Kuwait

The attacks were directed "against American bases in the region," according to Iranian state media. Reports mentioned, among other things, the use of a Patriot missile defense system in Kuwait, an early warning system in Qatar, and fuel tanks in Bahrain. The aim was to weaken Iran's ability to threaten shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, according to the responsible US military command CENTCOM in connection with a parallel US offensive.

Casualty figures and damage

According to the Iranian Health Ministry, at least 14 people were killed and 78 others injured in the two waves of US attacks that preceded the Iranian counterstrikes. Exact casualty figures on the Iranian retaliatory attacks in the region were initially not provided. In Bahrain, warning sirens sounded again in the morning, the Interior Ministry announced.

Bahrain's armed forces stated that air defense had repelled several Iranian attacks with drones and missiles. Residents were urged to "remain calm and seek a safe place." The warnings apparently applied to several waves of drones and missiles flying toward the kingdom in the early morning hours.

Kuwait reports intercepting all projectiles

Meanwhile, the Kuwaiti armed forces announced that the country had been attacked with a total of "three missiles, ten drones, and one cruise missile." All incoming missiles, drones, as well as the cruise missile fired at Kuwait had been intercepted, it said. Falling debris caused property damage in some locations, and one person was injured.

The US armed forces had attacked around 90 military targets along the Iranian coast overnight, including air defense systems, coastal surveillance facilities, and missile and drone storage facilities. The day before, the US claimed to have attacked more than 80 targets in Iran, justifying this with attacks on commercial ships. The new military offensive was intended to weaken Iran's ability "to threaten the freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz," as CENTCOM announced.

US attacks on Iranian coastal targets

As Iranian state television further reported, the Iranian Army had deployed "a large number of kamikaze drones of various types" against the stated targets in recent hours. US destroyers and ships off the coast of Bahrain were attacked with cruise missiles, among other things, according to a state radio report.

According to reports, an air force base in Jordan was also attacked with ballistic missiles. This expanded the circle of affected countries beyond the Gulf region. Authorities in several countries had restricted the freedom of movement of reporters as well as photo and live video recordings in sensitive locations, according to international media reports.

The Revolutionary Guards warned, according to a statement published by IRIB, that Iran would extend its response to other US bases in the region should the US take retaliatory measures. The Revolutionary Guards also issued the threat: "Let me make one thing clear: whoever attacks will be attacked in return." Tehran's chief negotiator, Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, also threatened Washington: "The United States has still not understood that intimidation and breach of faith no longer come without consequences," he wrote on the online service X.

Threats from Tehran

US President Donald Trump, meanwhile, declared aboard the presidential aircraft on his return flight from the NATO summit to Washington that the ceasefire agreed with Tehran was "over." Referring to the leadership in Tehran and the US-Iranian framework agreement to end the conflict, he said: "They violate the agreement every day." At the same time, he claimed: "They called recently, they very much want to reach an agreement."

According to information from the US news portal Axios, the White House is preparing for a possible military confrontation with Iran lasting several days or even weeks. This raises concerns about a longer-term conflagration in the region, where a significant portion of global oil and energy infrastructure is concentrated.

International reactions

UN Secretary-General António Guterres called for the parties to the conflict to return to the negotiating table and urged "all parties to exercise maximum restraint, avoid any further escalation, and take immediate steps to de-escalate." Pakistan, meanwhile, "urgently called on all sides to abide by their respective obligations under the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding," as the Pakistani Foreign Ministry stated.

Observers pointed out that the renewed escalation occurred during the mourning ceremonies for the late Iranian Revolutionary Leader that have been ongoing since July 4 – a circumstance likely to further increase the domestic political volatility of the retaliatory strikes. The Gulf state of Bahrain has been the closest US ally in the region for decades and hosts the headquarters of the US Navy's 5th Fleet.

Risk to global energy supply

International observers see the parallel closure of parts of the energy and transport infrastructure in the Gulf as a warning signal for the global economy. Several Gulf states had already temporarily shut down airports and energy facilities in recent weeks. The oil-rich Gulf region has borne the brunt of Iranian retaliatory strikes since the beginning of the Middle East war, which have been directed not only against US facilities but also against civilian infrastructure such as energy facilities and airports.

The coming days will likely show whether the diplomatic appeals and mediation offers from Islamabad and New York have any effect – or whether the conflict will escalate into an open regional conflagration that impacts the world's most strategically important waterway, the Strait of Hormuz.