Iran attacks Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan in retaliation for US strikes in south

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary ⁠Guard Corps (IRGC) says it attacked the United States Fifth ⁠Fleet in Bahrain and an airbase in Jordan in response to US strikes on southern ‌Iran earlier, while Kuwait reported coming under Iranian attack. Iran said earlier that US forces had attacked several locations in the south of the country, including the Sirik region, where two water tanks were confirmed as having been destroyed. The US military described its latest attacks on Iran as “self-defense” and a “proportional response” to Iranian attacks, including the downing of a US Apache attack helicopter over the Strait of Hormuz on Monday.

The United States launched airstrikes early Wednesday against Iran after blaming Tehran for the crash of an American attack helicopter. Iran responded with attacks targeting Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan, part of a widening round of retaliatory strikes that threaten to derail talks to reach an end to the Iran war. Iran launched attacks on sites in Bahrain, Kuwait, which both sounded alerts and fired air defences in response. Jordan also reported shooting down five missiles that Iran shot at an air base hosting US forces. Since the US and Israel began striking Iran on Feb 28, the war has shaken the global economy, driven up energy prices around the world and made many basics, including food, more expensive.

Officials have been unable to turn the April ceasefire into a deal to permanently end the conflict, particularly as Israel intensifies and expands its military campaign in Lebanon against the Iranian-backed militia Hezbollah. The downing of the Apache attack helicopter and the strikes by the US military further strained the ceasefire a day after Iran and Israel exchanged fire for the first time since the fragile truce took effect. Iranian state television said Tuesday that the Israeli attacks killed at least two members of the country's air-defense units.