US Iran War Live Updates: Tehran targets US bases in Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain after second day of US strikes

UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric urged all parties involved to resume negotiations.

“This tit for tat needs to stop,” he said at a regular briefing when asked about the recent flare-up in the conflict.

“A return to diplomacy is urgently needed for the sake of stability in the region, for the sake of global stability.”

He added that “all of the parties involved need to understand that the best way to end this conflict is a return to the negotiating table.”

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have said in a statement carried by state media that Iran fired 10 ballistic missiles at Jordan’s Azraq military base.

The base hosts the U.S. Air Forces Central’s 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing.

The Revolutionary Guards said U.S. bases in the region would be targeted if “U.S. aggression” was repeated.

Earlier on Thursday, Iran’s army said in a statement released by state media that it had targeted U.S. sites in Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain.

The US military has said its latest strikes were aimed at keeping the Strait of Hormuz open.

It targeted Iran’s southern coastal and eastern provinces.

The below satellite images taken two days apart show an Iranian port building in Sarkhur Tahruyi on the south coast of Iran, before and after the US strikes.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi held separate phone calls with his Omani and Turkish counterparts, the Iranian foreign ministry said in a statement.

The parties discussed the latest developments in the region, particularly in the Strait of Hormuz, and stressed the need to use diplomatic channels to prevent escalation, the statement added.

At least one person was injured on Tuesday, Kuwait’s defence ministry said, following the latest Iranian attack on the country.

“The injured individual is receiving the necessary medical care and is in stable condition,” defence ministry spokesman Colonel Staff Saud Abdulaziz Al-Atwan said, adding that four missiles and 10 drones had been “successfully intercepted and neutralised” at dawn.

New fighting erupted between the United States and Iran hours ahead of the burial of longtime supreme leader Ali Khamenei on Thursday, with Tehran targeting US allies in the region and American strikes hitting the perimeter of an Iranian nuclear power plant.

The renewed hostilities, triggered by tensions over the Strait of Hormuz, sparked concerns of a return to full-scale war after an April ceasefire and a June US-Iran accord ended five weeks of conflict.

This was the second day in a row that the decades-old foes exchanged attacks, with Iranian officials reporting the US attacks had killed 17 people.

Bridget Diakun, senior risk and compliance analyst for maritime data company Lloyd’s List Intelligence, said in a news briefing that ships were still passing through the strait as of Wednesday, but Lloyd’s is still reviewing the numbers since some passages are “dark,” when ships stop broadcasting signals that show their location.

“The situation does remain really volatile,” she said.

Lloyd’s List Intelligence said preliminary data shows there were at least 576 transits in June, up from 233 in May, but down from 3,131 in June 2025.

In June, there were 264 outbound vessels and 137 inbound ships.

Outbound ships included bulkers, crude oil tankers and product tankers. Inbound ships included crude oil tankers, product tankers, bulk carriers and gas carriers.

In June, there was an even split between “dark” transits and online transits that broadcast their locations.

A camp belonging to an Iranian Kurdish opposition group in northern Iraq was struck in two successive drone attacks on Thursday, security sources said, amid heightened regional tensions following US strikes on Iran. The camp, located northeast of Erbil, sustained the attacks without any immediate reports of casualties, as Iran continues to view Kurdish armed groups based across the border as separatist threats.

An Iranian air force fighter jet escorted a plane carrying the bodies of slain Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and his family members on Thursday.

The coffins returned to Iran for burial from a funeral ceremony in Iraq. The week of mass mourning ceremonies for Khamenei began on Friday and made multiple stops in Iran and Iraq.

Oil prices, stock markets and the dollar were steadier Thursday as investors assessed the outlook for Middle East peace efforts after the US and Iran exchanged fresh strikes.

Crude prices rose but by far less compared to Wednesday, when US President Donald Trump said the fragile ceasefire between the foes was over following tit-for-tat attacks in the region.

In European stock market trades, Paris and Frankfurt edged higher in midday deals, while London was dragged lower by a sharp fall in AstraZeneca shares.

The British pharmaceutical giant slumped 10 percent after its new heart drug failed to meet targets in a trial, dealing a rare setback to the market heavyweight.

Most Asian equity markets advanced, though sentiment remained subdued amid concerns over stretched technology valuations and uncertainty over when AI investments will see returns.

“The shock at the resumption of attacks in the Middle East has started to ease off, but investors are skittish,” said Susannah Streeter, chief investment strategist at Wealth Club.

The US Embassy in Jordan on Thursday issued an urgent security alert after reports indicated that missiles, drones or rockets were present in Jordanian airspace, urging American citizens to immediately seek shelter and remain indoors.

In the advisory, the embassy asked people across the country to take overhead cover, shelter in place and closely follow local announcements and official alerts as the security situation evolves.

“Reports indicate missiles, drones, or rockets are in Jordanian airspace. Seek overhead cover and shelter in place immediately. Remain indoors and pay attention to local announcements and alerts,” the embassy said.

he U.S. Embassy in Jordan will continue to review the situation and provide additional information as needed.

Assistance:

· U.S. Embassy – Amman, Jordan

· Embassy address: Al-Umawyeen 37, Amman, Jordan

· Phone number (emergencies during business hours): +962 6 590-6000

· Phone number (emergencies after business hours): +962 6 590-6500 · Contact the U.S. Citizen Services Unit · Embassy website: https://jo.usembassy.gov Homepage – U.S. Embassy in Jordan

· State Department – Consular Affairs: 888-407-4747 or 202-501-4444

· Jordan Country Information

· Enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) to receive security updates

· Follow the Department of State on Facebook and X/Twitter.

Actions to Take: 

· Monitor local media, such as Roya News, Petra News and Jordan Times for information.

· Contact your airline directly for flight change details if your flight is affected.

· Be aware of your surroundings.

· Remain vigilant for anything appearing out of the ordinary.

· Contact the Jordanian police by dialing 911 if you are in immediate danger.

Bushehr Governor Mohammad Mozaffari has said that there has not been any attack on the nuclear power plant in the province, according to ISNA.

Mozaffari further said that reports of attacks on the Kharg Island were also incorrect.

The Bushehr plant is the only functional nuclear plant in Iran.

Earlier in the day, there were reports of several explosions in Bushehr province.

Amid tit-for-tat US-Iran strikes, air raid warning sirens have been reported in several regions of Jordan, according to Al Jazeera.

Several explosions were reported in Iran’s Bushehr province on Thursday, with residents near the country’s only civilian nuclear power plant hearing multiple blasts just hours after the United States carried out strikes on Iranian targets. While Iranian media confirmed the explosions, authorities had not immediately disclosed the exact location or cause, raising fresh concerns over the security of the strategically significant nuclear site.

Kuwait on Thursday said that one person was injured in the latest wave of Iranian attacks, according to Al Jazeera.

Kuwaiti Major General Saud Abdulaziz al-Otaibi said air defence system intercepted three ballistic missiles, one cruise missile, and 10 suicide drones.

Al-Otaibi said that the injury was a result of falling debris.

Several explosions have been heard in Iran’s Bushehr province today, the state-run Mehr ⁠news agency has reported.

The United States has not yet announced a fresh wave of strikes on Iran.

Iran’s only functional nuclear plant is located in Bushehr.

Iran buries its slain Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Thursday at the country’s holiest shrine, with his son and successor Mojtaba Khamenei still hidden from public view after being disfigured in the strike that killed his father.

The burial in Mashhad in northeast Iran follows a week of mass funeral processions, rallies and mourning ceremonies that has coincided with a renewed burst of conflict with the United States following weeks of truce.

Crowds marched through Mashhad on Thursday morning, the golden onion dome and minarets of the Shrine of Imam Reza glinting in the morning sun, as they waved Iranian flags, photographs of the late Khamenei and placards with revolutionary slogans.

As Khamenei’s body was transported around Iran and Iraq over the past week, the Islamic Republic’s clerical leaders encouraged huge crowds to attend in an effort to vaunt the might and ideological fire of their theocratic state.

However, despite it having survived a months-long blitz by its strongest enemies the United States and Israel, Iran faces huge internal challenges and the legacy of Khamenei’s 37-year rule is bitterly disputed.

‘Kill Trump’ placards appear at burial ceremony

The whereabouts of Mojtaba Khamenei, proclaimed Supreme Leader by a clerical assembly a week after his father’s death, has remained a mystery to Iranians.

He has not appeared in public since the war began with the strike that killed Ali Khamenei on February 28, and while he has issued written statements, no image or video or voice recording of him has been issued.

He suffered debilitating injuries in that same strike, his face disfigured and limbs badly wounded.

Senior sources in Tehran have said he is recovering but that he has not yet been well enough to manage public appearances and state security services are also trying to limit his exposure in case of more U.S. attacks.

As crowds jostled in Mashhad awaiting Khamenei’s funeral cortege, the crowd chanted slogans demanding revenge on U.S. President Donald Trump for his killing.

“I swear by the blood of the Supreme Leader, Trump, we will kill you!” they shouted, with women holding up placards reading “Kill Trump”.

Khamenei’s remains, along with those of four family members killed alongside him, have already been paraded through Tehran, the Shi’ite Muslim clerical centre of Qom, and the Iraqi shrine cities of Najaf and Karbala.

At each event, huge crowds have thronged the streets to the mournful accompaniment of sung Shi’ite laments and chanted revolutionary slogans.

Martydom holds a central place in Shi’ite theology and Khamenei’s death at the hands of foreign enemies has played into a religious and political tradition that runs deep through the Islamic Republic.

Khameinei’s long rule and disputed legacy

The funeral comes at a critical moment for Iran, turning the page of nearly four decades of Khamenei’s rule and months after the latest round of mass nationwide protests against the Islamic Republic.

Security forces put down that unrest, sparked by anger over the sanctions-throttled economy, by killing thousands of demonstrators in a wave of repression that echoed other bouts of violence over recent years.

While analysts see Iran as having emerged from the war strategically strengthened, with its grip over the vital Strait of Hormuz intact, it has suffered widespread damage that has added to internal economic woes.

The late Khamenei was appointed supreme leader in 1989, a decade after the Islamic revolution, and over the decades he consolidated political, economic and military power in his office.

That effort, which increasingly marginalised the elected president and parliament, was conducted in concert with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps that grew in influence throughout Khamenei’s rule.

Mojtaba Khamenei was appointed with the backing of the Guards, who are now seen as the dominant force in Iranian political and strategic thinking.

— Reported by Reuters

Bahrain again sounded nationwide alarm on Thursday as the situation remains tense in West Asia.

Bahrain did not clarify what prompted the alarm and did not say whether Iran had launched a fresh wave of missiles and drones.

The United States and Iran are currently locked in a cycle of violence, with each side responding to previous strikes with a newer wave of attacks. Iran has struck Kuwait and Bahrain in response to American strikes.

Amnesty International has accused Israel of “wiping out families” in its recent strikes on Lebanon, calling the attacks potential war crimes. In a new report, the London-based rights group said Israeli forces failed to distinguish between civilians and military targets and did not take adequate precautions to minimise civilian harm. Amnesty also urged countries to impose a comprehensive arms embargo on Israel and investigate those responsible under international law.

Iranian state television said Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s burial in Mashhad has been delayed after unexpectedly large crowds gathered for funeral processions in the Iraqi holy cities of Najaf and Karbala on Wednesday. The burial ceremony is now scheduled to take place at 2:30 pm local time (11:00 GMT).

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot on Thursday blamed Iran for the latest US strikes, saying Tehran had violated last month’s ceasefire agreement by attacking ships in Omani waters. He said Iran had breached both its commitments and international law, while urging both Washington and Tehran to avoid further escalation and resume negotiations.

Iran’s late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is being buried in Mashhad, a city in northeastern Iran, because of its personal and religious importance.

Khamenei was born in Mashhad in 1939 and spent much of his childhood and religious education there. Iranian state media says he had wished to be buried in his hometown.

He will be laid to rest at the Imam Reza Shrine, Iran’s holiest Shia Muslim site. It houses the tomb of Imam Reza, the eighth Imam in Shia Islam, making it one of the country’s most sacred places.

The shrine is the final resting place of several important Iranian figures, including former President Ebrahim Raisi, making it a symbolically significant burial site.

Khamenei’s burial marks the end of a week-long funeral procession that passed through major cities in Iran and Iraq, including Tehran, Qom, Najaf and Karbala, before reaching Mashhad.

Iran said on Thursday that it launched a wave of one-way attack drones targeting US military sites in Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar, describing the operation as retaliation for American strikes carried out earlier in the day.

According to Iranian state media, the military claimed it targeted a Patriot missile defence system in Kuwait, an early warning system in Qatar, and US military fuel storage facilities in Bahrain using a large number of kamikaze drones.

Tehran said the strikes were part of its ongoing campaign against US military bases across the region following the latest escalation in the conflict.

Thousands of mourners gathered in the Iraqi holy cities of Najaf and Karbala on Wednesday to take part in funeral processions for Iran’s late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The ceremonies form part of a multi-day farewell being held ahead of his burial in Iran.

The Iranian health ministry has said that at least 14 people were killed and 78 injured in American strikes across five provinces on Wednesday.

The updates comes amid ongoing tit-for-tat American and Iranian attacks on each other across West Asia, which have cast doubt on the ongoing peace process.

US President Donald Trump has said that the ceasefire was Iran was essentially over for him whereas Iran has accused the Trump administration of violating the terms of the memorandum of understanding signed last month.

Iran’s hardline Kayhan newspaper on Thursday urged Tehran to end all negotiations with Washington, saying the conflict should now be decided on the battlefield rather than at the negotiating table. The daily, whose editor-in-chief is appointed by the Supreme Leader’s office, also claimed US President Donald Trump would eventually be forced to “beg” as rising oil prices increase pressure on Washington.

Gold prices edged lower on Thursday, hovering near a one-week low, as renewed fighting between the United States and Iran drove oil prices higher and reignited concerns about inflation and the likelihood of interest rates remaining elevated for longer.

Spot gold fell 0.4 per cent to $4,060.46 an ounce after touching its lowest level since July 1 in the previous session. US gold futures for August delivery also slipped 0.3 per cent to $4,069.80 an ounce, according to Reuters.

Oil prices rose more than 1% on Thursday after the US carried out fresh strikes on Iran, denting hopes for talks to end their war and for the full reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint for one-fifth of pre-war global oil supplies.

Brent crude futures rose 86 cents, or 1.1 per cent, to $78.88 a barrel by 0352 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate crude futures were up 85 cents, or 1.2 per cent, at $74.37 a barrel.

Both crude benchmarks, WTI and Brent, rose more than a dollar in post-settlement trade on Wednesday after the US military began launching fresh strikes on Iran.