Iranian armed forces launched attacks on U.S. military infrastructure in neighboring Gulf states on Thursday, marking a significant escalation after U.S. strikes on Iran's southern and eastern provinces.
The retaliatory attacks targeted U.S. Patriot missile systems in Kuwait, an early warning satellite antenna site in Qatar, and a U.S. Army fuel storage facility in Bahrain. Kuwaiti forces reported intercepting several missiles and drones, with one person injured by shrapnel.
The confrontation follows U.S. military strikes that killed 14 people and injured 78 across five provinces on July 8 and 9. The U.S. Central Command stated its strikes were in "retribution" for Iranian attacks on commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran is simultaneously preparing to bury its slain Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in the city of Mashhad. Khamenei was killed in a U.S. airstrike on the first day of the war on February 28.
Oil prices fell back as investors assessed whether the flare-up was temporary or signaled a complete collapse of the three-week-old ceasefire. The Strait of Hormuz, a critical global oil transit point, remains under effective Iranian control.
President Trump, speaking from a NATO summit in Turkey, said he did not believe the latest strikes would escalate into a full-fledged conflict but stated the ceasefire agreement with Iran was likely "over."