Iran launched a new wave of missile attacks against Gulf countries that host U.S. military facilities. Jordan, Kuwait and Iraq reported intercepting several projectiles and condemned the Iranian strikes in the early hours of Thursday.
Late Wednesday, the United States carried out another round of strikes on Iranian territory aimed at reducing Tehran’s ability to “threaten innocent mariners operating commercial ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz.”
The new offensive followed Washington’s confirmation that it had reinstated a naval blockade on Iranian ports and coasts, and after two commercial vessels were diverted, which the Pentagon said tried to evade U.S. restrictions.
President Donald Trump hardened his stance toward Tehran and warned the military campaign in the Middle East could expand in the coming days if the Iranian regime does not return to the negotiating table. “Next week the situation will be very bad for them,” he said.
Minute-by-minute coverage follows:
Oil prices fall
Oil prices fell in the early hours of Thursday, though they remain elevated amid intensified U.S. strikes on Iran and Iranian missile and drone attacks on Kuwait and Bahrain.
Brent crude, the international benchmark, declined 0.5% to $84.57 per barrel. At the end of February, before the conflict began, it traded near $72 per barrel. The U.S. benchmark fell 0.2% to $79.43 per barrel.
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Tehran threatened regional infrastructure if the United States attacks Iran
Tehran warned on Thursday that it would strike the regional infrastructure of countries allied with the United States if Washington follows through on threats to attack Iranian facilities.
The spokesperson for Iran’s military headquarters said that if those warnings are carried out, “the entire infrastructure of the region would be crushed under the steel blows of the Iranian armed forces.”
Israel informed the Pentagon it will keep troops in “security zones” in Lebanon, Syria and Gaza
Israel’s defense minister, Israel Katz, told his U.S. counterpart, Pete Hegseth, that the Israeli military will keep its forces in the “security zones” established in Lebanon, Syria and the Gaza Strip.
According to a statement released Thursday, the two officials spoke overnight and Katz “stressed Israel’s determination to remain in the security zones in Syria, Gaza and Lebanon to protect its borders and nearby communities from the threats posed by jihadist forces.”
Fire and smoke seen in Chabahar, Iran, after reports of an explosion
Jordan intercepted eight Iranian missiles overnight
Jordan’s air defense systems intercepted and destroyed eight Iranian missiles aimed at the country in the early hours of Thursday, the Jordanian military reported. No casualties or material damage were reported. Engineering teams secured the areas where debris fell, and the armed forces remain on high alert for possible further threats.
Meanwhile, the Iranian military said its drones struck communications systems, fuel depots and a fixed radar station at Al Azraq air base in Jordan, which it identified as a U.S. military facility. The statement, carried by official Iranian media, said the offensive was the ninth phase of “Operation Saeqeh” (Lightning) and was launched in response to recent U.S. attacks on Iran, including a strike on a military barracks in Sistan and Baluchestan province that Tehran says killed seven service members.
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Iraq’s prime minister condemned Thursday’s “drone attack” over Erbil
Iraq’s prime minister, Ali al-Zaidi, condemned a “drone attack” that violated Erbil’s airspace after several unmanned aircraft were shot down, his office said.
Al-Zaidi said security agencies, in coordination with regional forces, have been instructed to take all necessary measures to prevent such attacks from recurring and to protect the safety of Iraqi society.
Iranian media reported explosions in Tehran, the capital
State media in Iran reported that air defense alerts were activated in several areas of Tehran on Thursday morning and explosions were recorded in the north and west of the country.
The state news agency IRNA reported that, so far, no casualties have been recorded in Tehran. Additional explosions were reportedly heard in the western province of Lorestan and in Semnan in the north, according to IRNA and the Mehr news agency.