What began as a squabble over commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz has now become a broader regional confrontation, with Iran launching missiles and drones at US military installations in Kuwait and Bahrain, and President Donald Trump threatening to wipe the Islamic Republic off the map altogether. Each side accused the other of undermining a ceasefire pact negotiated less than two weeks ago.
What did Trump say and how serious is his warning?
US military targeted Iranian targets for a second night in a row, Trump said on Truth Social, confirming that American planes hit Iranian missile and drone storage locations and coastal radar posts, adding that Iran had breached the ceasefire agreement “AGAIN”.
Then he made his most blatant threat so far from Washington.
“There will come a time when we will no longer be able to be reasonable and we will have to finish off the job that we have so successfully begun militarily,” Trump wrote. “If that happens, then there will be no more Islamic Republic of Iran.”
Kuwait’s army stated within an hour of that post that it was responding with air defences to hostile missile and drone assaults and air raid sirens rang across Bahrain.
Where did Iran hit and what did it say?
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has said it launched missile and drone operations against US military locations in Kuwait and Bahrain, claiming the actions were a direct retaliation to American attacks on Iranian territory.
Kuwait’s Al Asad Air Base was also on the IRGC’s list of targets. Bahrain, the home base for the US Navy’s 5th Fleet, was hit twice within hours, with sirens ringing twice overnight.
There were no American injuries or major damage to U.S. facilities reported, a U.S. official told Reuters, while the scenario was still unfolding.In a statement the IRGC stated the US strikes had broken the truce and warned the assaults “will result in the complete halt of all diplomatic processes”.
Its navy leadership took matters further.
IRGC navy added, “The American bases in the region are a different story.” “These days they will experience hell.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry termed the US strikes “brutal attacks” showing Washington “does not value its commitments the slightest” and said “breaking promises is part of the nature of this regime”. It claimed Iran was resolved to preserve its national sovereignty against what it called US aggression with armed means.
This latest escalation is part of a pattern that has already repeated itself twice in two days.
A Singapore-flagged cargo ship, the Ever Lovely, was attacked Thursday by an Iranian drone while passing through the Strait of Hormuz. The US reacted with attacks Friday. Early Saturday morning, Iran hit the Panama-flagged oil tanker Kiku, which was carrying more than two million barrels of crude oil
The US struck back again on Saturday night, targeting eleven Iranian military installations in and near the strait, the Associated Press (AP) reported
