Tehran targets Gulf countries as US strikes Iran, hits oil tanker heading to Kharg Island

CAIRO – 16 July 2026: The United States said on Thursday it carried out a new wave of military strikes against Iranian targets, while Iran announced attacks on US military targets in Bahrain and Kuwait, both of which host significant American military forces.

The Iranian attacks have prompted Bahrain and Kuwait to activate their air defenses as a fifth day of renewed hostilities further strained a preliminary Washington-Tehran agreement aimed at ending the war.

The US Central Command (CENTCOM) said its wave of strikes targeted Iranian command centers, air defense sites, missile and drone capabilities, and coastal surveillance facilities.

According to CENTCOM, the strikes, carried out with precision-guided munitions, hit multiple locations, including Bandar Abbas, an Iranian port city on the strategic Strait of Hormuz.

CENTCOM said the strikes were aimed at degrading Iran's ability to threaten commercial shipping transiting the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly one-fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas trade passed before the war.

Separately, US forces conducted a separate 90-minute operation targeting coastal defense and cruise missile sites on Greater Tunb Island.

CENTCOM also disabled a Curaçao-flagged oil tanker transiting international waters toward Kharg Island, which handles the majority of Iran's crude oil exports, saying the vessel was attempting to violate the U.S. naval blockade on Iran.

“The commercial vessel ignored multiple warnings as it attempted to violate the U.S. blockade. A U.S. aircraft disabled the vessel after firing hellfire missiles into the ship’s smokestack. The ship is no longer transiting to Iran,” said CENTCOM.

 

Iran, meanwhile, said it had struck US military targets in the region, including in Bahrain and Kuwait.

Bahrain said its air defense systems intercepted and destroyed several Iranian aerial attacks on Thursday.

Kuwait also said its air defenses were responding to hostile drone attacks, adding that any explosions heard by residents were the result of air defense systems intercepting the incoming threats.

Amid continued US strikes on Iran, US President Donald Trump warned that the United States could target bridges and power plants next week if Iran fails to return to negotiations.

Meanwhile, Iran's top negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf told state media that Tehran has "no reason" to adhere to the agreement signed with the US in mid-June if it does not serve Tehran’s interests.