Iran Hits Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan After US Strikes
US strikes targeted Iranian ports and Hormuz islands after Tehran allegedly downed a helicopter, escalating regional tensions.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said on Wednesday it launched coordinated attacks on United States military installations in Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan in direct retaliation for recent US strikes The statement, carried by state media, accused US forces of earlier attacking Qeshm Island and other Iranian coastal targets after Washington blamed Tehran for downing a US Apache helicopter.
According to the IRGC, the group deployed drones against US Fifth Fleet facilities in Bahrain and the Ali Al Salem airbase in Kuwait, while firing a long-range missile at Azraq airbase in Jordan. The statement claimed 21 US targets were hit and four destroyed, notably asserting that an F-35 fighter jet hangar at the Jordanian base was among the damaged assets. The IRGC also said it shot down an MQ-9 drone over the Iranian city of Jam.
Jordan’s military said it intercepted and shot down five missiles launched toward Azraq, adding that resulting shrapnel fell without causing human injuries or material damage. US and allied officials have not immediately verified the full scope of the IRGC’s claims.
Analysts say the swift Iranian response appears to reflect a new doctrine of rapid, proportionate retaliation intended to deter future US strikes. Trita Parsi, executive vice president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, described the actions as designed to prevent a “new normal” in which the United States could strike Iranian targets with impunity.
The escalation marks the latest episode in a months-long series of confrontations between Tehran, Washington and regional actors. The conflict intensified in late February when US and Israeli strikes targeted Iranian positions, prompting a broader exchange of fire that has since impacted global markets by driving up fuel and food prices. Iran and Israel also exchanged fire a day earlier in their most serious escalation since a ceasefire took effect in April.
Despite the heightened tensions, reporters on the ground say both sides appear reluctant to trigger full-scale war. Al Jazeera’s Mohamed Vall, reporting from Tehran, noted that while Tehran and Washington have escalated strikes, there remains an interest on both sides in returning to negotiations — even as mutual distrust runs deep.
Global markets and regional capitals are closely watching developments as the situation evolves. Energy and supply-chain vulnerabilities linked to the Strait of Hormuz have made renewed fighting particularly dangerous for the already fragile global economy. International diplomats have called for de-escalation, but the rapid sequence of strikes and retaliations underscores the risks of miscalculation in a region where local crises can quickly spill into wider conflict.