A ship in the Strait of Hormuz, seen from Oman, July 14, 2026. (Credit: Stringer/Reuters)
The United States struck Iran, and Tehran hit back at U.S. allies in the Gulf on Thursday, as the foes battled over the vital Strait of Hormuz in the renewed Middle East war.
The key oil and gas artery, which Iran insists it controls, is central to the rekindled fighting that has entered its sixth day despite the foes' preliminary deal in June aimed at ending the war.
U.S. forces struck Iranian military targets in multiple locations, including the coastal city of Bandar Abbas, to "degrade Iran's ability to threaten innocent mariners" in the Strait of Hormuz, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said.
Earlier strikes targeted coastal defense and cruise missile sites on Greater Tunb Island in the Gulf, CENTCOM added.
Iran's official IRNA news agency reported explosions in several areas of the country Thursday, including Lorestan in the west and Semnan in the north, while air defense systems were activated in parts of Tehran.
Soon after, U.S. allies in the Gulf began reporting attacks, with Kuwait saying it intercepted Iranian drones and Bahrain sounding airstrike sirens.
At the heart of the renewed fighting is the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway crucial to global oil and gas flows.
Iran blockaded Hormuz after the war erupted with U.S.-Israeli strikes on Feb. 28, using the waterway as leverage against its foes for months.
The strait was briefly reopened after the U.S.-Iran deal last month before Tehran vowed last week it would be closed again "until the U.S. ends its aggression."
Iran's military said it targeted U.S. military facilities in Jordan with drones "in response to the enemy aggression," state television IRIB reported.
Earlier, the U.S. military said one of its aircraft fired on and disabled an empty oil tanker that was trying to break the naval blockade of Iranian ports.
In Iraq, Kurdish forces said the U.S.-led coalition downed eight explosive-laden drones over Erbil, the capital of the northern Kurdistan region, where AFP journalists heard explosions and saw smoke near the U.S. Consulate.
Hours later, the Iraqi prime minister condemned the "drone attack" without identifying its origin.
Ghalibaf: 'No reason to adhere'
But despite renewed hostilities, mediated talks between the two sides have not formally ended.
"Next week it gets really bad for them," U.S. President Donald Trump told Fox News, threatening to hit power plants and bridges unless Tehran returns to the negotiating table.
But Iran's top negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, warned that "a memorandum of understanding only has meaning when its clauses are valid and being implemented."
"If Iran is not to derive any benefit from the memorandum of understanding, we have no reason to adhere," he said in a statement.
Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remained low, with maritime tracker Kpler reporting only 21 transits Tuesday, while oil prices rose after the latest escalation.
The United States has also reimposed a blockade of Iranian ports.
Anxiety ran high in Iran. Khadijeh, 31, an artisan from Qasr-e Shirin in the southeast, said: "The little children are so frightened by the sound of explosions that they don't sleep until morning.
"If, God forbid, the war becomes more intense, then perhaps it will take several generations before we can get back on our feet."
Fears also mounted in Gulf countries repeatedly hit by Iranian strikes.
"Every day, I wake up wondering whether the situation will de-escalate or worsen," said Mustafa Mohamed, a 39-year-old Sudanese accountant living in Kuwait.
American released, Trump praises Iran's 'goodwill gesture'
The U.S. president said Wednesday that an American citizen — identified by her lawyer as Dena Karari — had left the country "in good condition" after being detained in Iran since December 2024.
"The United States of America appreciates this gesture of goodwill by Iran!" Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
Since last week, renewed U.S. attacks have killed at least 30 people in Iran, government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani said.
Separately, the military said nine of its personnel were killed in Wednesday's strikes in the southeast.
According to state media, a hospital in Ahvaz, in southwestern Iran, was evacuated following U.S. airstrikes in the area, and patients were transferred to other medical centers.
