The Iranian regime 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 on Wednesday, the United States carried out another round of strikes on Iranian territory aimed at reducing Tehran’s ability to “threaten innocent mariners aboard commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz.”
The new offensive followed Washington’s confirmation that it had reinstated a naval blockade of Iranian ports and waters, and that two commercial vessels had been diverted after, the Pentagon said, they tried to evade U.S.-imposed restrictions.
President Donald Trump took a tougher stance toward Tehran and warned that 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.
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Pakistan urged Iran and the U.S. to resume peace talks to halt the war in the Middle East
On Thursday, Pakistan said it will encourage the United States and Iran to halt the violence and resume talks under the memorandum of understanding (MoU) that Islamabad helped mediate last month.
“Although implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding faces challenges, Pakistan will continue to urge all parties to end the violence and resume technical-level talks in accordance with the Memorandum of Understanding,” Tahir Andrabi, spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry, said to the press in Islamabad.
“We expressed our hope that the situation in the Strait of Hormuz will normalize soon and emphasized the importance of ensuring the safety and freedom of maritime navigation,” he added.
Oil prices fall
Oil prices fell in early trading on 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, fell 0.5% to $84.57 per barrel. At the end of February, before the conflict began, it traded around $72 per barrel. The U.S. benchmark slipped 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 infrastructure of countries allied with the United States if Washington follows through on its warnings to attack Iranian facilities.
The spokesperson for Iran’s military headquarters said that, if such threats are carried out, “all the 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
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz told his U.S. counterpart, Pete Hegseth, that the Israeli military will maintain forces in the “security zones” established within Lebanon, Syria and the Gaza Strip.
According to a statement issued on 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 threats posed by jihadist forces.”
Fire and smoke seen in Chabahar, Iran, after reports of an explosion
Jordan intercepted eight Iranian missiles during the night
Jordan’s air-defense systems intercepted and destroyed eight Iranian missiles directed at the country in the early hours of Thursday, the Jordanian military reported. There were no casualties or material damage reported. Engineering teams secured the areas where debris fell, and the armed forces remain on high alert for possible further threats.
Iran’s military, meanwhile, said its drones struck communication systems, fuel depots and a fixed radar station at Al Azraq airbase in Jordan, which Tehran identified as a U.S. military installation. State media said the operation 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 the Sistan and Baluchestan province that Tehran says killed seven servicemembers.
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Iraq’s prime minister condemned Thursday’s “drone attack” on Erbil
Iraq’s prime minister, Ali al-Zaidi, condemned a “drone attack” that violated Erbil’s airspace after several aircraft were downed, his office said.
Al-Zaidi said security agencies, in coordination with regional forces, have been instructed to take all necessary measures to prevent a recurrence of these attacks and to protect the safety of Iraqi society.
Iranian media reported explosions in Tehran, the capital
Iranian state media reported that air-defense alerts were activated Thursday morning in several areas of Tehran and that explosions were heard in the north and west of the country.
The state news agency IRNA said there were no reported casualties in Tehran so far. Additional explosions were reported in the western province of Lorestan and in Semnan in the north, according to IRNA and the Mehr news agency.