ISLAMABAD: Tehran on Thursday attacked multiple Gulf countries in response to fresh US strikes on Iran, Iranian state media reported, despite efforts by Pakistan and other countries to resolve the months-long conflict through diplomacy.
The US launched a second round of airstrikes on Iran into Thursday morning after President Donald Trump warned that Tehran would “pay the price” for stalled negotiations, while Iran responded with strikes targeting Bahrain, Kuwait and other states.
The US assault across multiple Iranian cities came as efforts to negotiate an end to the war again appeared stuck, with Iran insisting it would maintain its chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz that has disrupted global energy supplies and sent oil prices higher.
“Early on Thursday morning, the IRGC’s (Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps) Aerospace Force and Navy fighters, while punishing the aggressor and retaliating against the US military’s provocation, struck and destroyed 18 key US military assets at the Ali Al Salem, Ahmad Al Jaber, and Sheikh Isa air bases,” the state-run IRNA news agency reported.
“The operation, carried out in two waves, came in response to enemy attacks on certain IRGC service units, coastal posts, the police headquarters, and areas around Bandar Abbas Airport.”
Citing Iranian navy, the IRNA reported that Tehran has closed the Strait of Hormuz, a vital global trade and energy supply route, “until further notice” following repeated violations of a two-month shaky ceasefire by US forces.
The US Central Command said it had “completed” its latest round of airstrikes “in response to Iran’s unwarranted and continued aggression” and targeted “Iranian military surveillance capabilities, communication systems and air defense sites.” It did not elaborate on the damage done by the strikes, which it said were carried out by the US Air Force, Marines and Navy.
Iran responded by launching strikes on Bahrain, Kuwait and other regional states, and Kuwait closed its airspace as its air defenses fought off the attack. Kuwait’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation said flights were being diverted to other airports, without elaborating. Kuwait International Airport took a direct Iranian hit in recent days, killing one person and wounding dozens.
It was the third time this week that back-and-forth strikes tested the ceasefire, with Trump saying that Pakistan, which has led a diplomatic push to resolve the conflict, was still trying to persuade Tehran to agree to a peace deal with Washington.
Speaking to reporters at the White House on Wednesday, Trump said he gave Iran “a break at the request of Pakistan,” specifically its Chief of Defense Forces Field Marshal Asim Munir and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, describing them as “great.”
“They became friendly to me, very friendly, and they’re close to Iran,” Trump said about Pakistan. “And they work, and they still are working on trying them [Iran] to do what’s right. But we want a deal that’s meaningful. We want a deal that works.”
Trump has urged Iran to sign a deal to end the war and suggested earlier this week that an agreement could be reached in days.
Iran’s United Nations envoy said the US should refrain from threats of force if it wants a deal.
“Iran has never negotiated under threats and pressure and will never submit to pressure or question,” Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani told the UN Security Council on Wednesday.
Still, both countries seem to be looking for a way to end the conflict — if they can manage to sell it as a win at home.
Since the US and Israel started the war with Feb. 28 attacks on Iran, the conflict has shaken the global economy, driven up energy prices worldwide, and made food and other basics more expensive.
The international benchmark for crude oil traded above $93 a barrel on Wednesday, up more than 25 percent since the start of the war.
Trump said the US military has since last month undertaken a “secret mission” to sneak oil shipments past Iran’s forces in the Strait of Hormuz. He said ships were slipping through at night, aided by the destruction of Iranian radar equipment.
