Iran warns countries hosting US military bases of 'corresponding response'

The US military said on Saturday that two American service members were killed in Jordan on July 17, while another remains missing in action.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei has warned the United States that it will face “unforgettable lessons” if it continues its military attacks on Iran.

In a fresh statement, Khamenei said Tehran was prepared to respond to continued US aggression, as tensions between the two countries remained high following days of reciprocal strikes.

The Israeli military said it carried out an airstrike on a Hezbollah cell near Tebnit in southern Lebanon on Saturday after detecting a Hezbollah drone operating in the area.

In a statement, the military said its forces tracked fighters who were flying drones and later took cover near Israeli troops. It added that the group’s activities violated the terms of the ceasefire understandings.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei on Saturday accused the United States of repeatedly violating its commitments under the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), saying US President Donald Trump’s signature on the agreement was “worthless and invalid.”

Khamenei also said Iran and its allies in the “Resistance Front” had “unforgettable lessons” in store for Washington, as tensions between the two countries continued to escalate.

Kuwait’s Fire Force said its emergency teams have contained two fires that broke out at sites targeted in Iranian attacks.

The agency added that firefighters also extinguished three separate fires caused by shrapnel that landed in residential areas. No further details on damage or casualties were immediately available.

Three US airstrikes targeted areas near the city of Sirik in Iran’s southern Hormozgan province on Saturday, according to Iran’s semi-official Mehr news agency, as cited by Al Jazeera.

Qatar has condemned Iran’s attacks across the Middle East, calling them a “flagrant violation” of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the countries targeted.

In a statement, Qatar’s Foreign Ministry said the strikes also violated international law and described them as a “dangerous escalation” that could further complicate efforts to ease regional tensions.

The ministry warned that the attacks risk undermining ongoing initiatives aimed at preserving security and stability across the region.

Pakistan and Kuwait have called on the United States and Iran to honour the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed last month and refrain from actions that could further escalate tensions in the region.

The appeal was made during a phone conversation between Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and his Kuwaiti counterpart, Sheikh Jarrah Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, Pakistan’s Foreign Office said on Saturday.

The call came as Washington and Tehran exchanged fresh military strikes, with attacks targeting military and infrastructure sites amid intensifying fighting around the strategically important Strait of Hormuz.

Passenger train services have resumed from the southern Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas, days after US military strikes damaged railway infrastructure in the area.

According to Al Jazeera, citing local Iranian media reports, trains began operating again on Saturday, restoring a key transport link from the strategically important port town.

Iran has executed a man convicted of killing a security force member during the nationwide protests that followed the 2022 death of a young woman in police custody, according to the country’s judiciary.

The execution, reported by the judiciary’s Mizan news agency, comes as Iran continues to face international criticism over its handling of the anti-government protests and its use of the death penalty in protest-related cases.

Iran has accused the United States of violating the terms of the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), saying it has suspended its own commitments under the agreement following continued US attacks.

Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said Washington had “violated and suspended all its commitments within the framework of the Islamabad MoU,” according to Iran’s Fars News Agency, as quoted by Al Jazeera.

Gharibabadi said Iran’s decision to halt its obligations under the MoU was a response to what Tehran described as repeated US military strikes.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has warned of further retaliatory action following the latest US strikes, saying countries hosting American military forces could also face consequences.

In a statement carried by Iranian state media, the IRGC said any country whose territory is used to launch attacks against Iran should be prepared for a “corresponding response,” according to CNN. Quoting the Quran, the force said those who attack Iran would be met with retaliation “in the same manner.”

The warning comes amid escalating tensions between Tehran and Washington after days of reciprocal strikes centred around the strategically important Strait of Hormuz, with no immediate signs of the conflict easing.

Iran’s Health Ministry said on Saturday that US strikes since July 6 have killed at least 50 people and injured more than 500 across the country.

Hossein Kermanpour, the ministry’s head of public relations and information, said in a post on X that the dead included five women, two children and several teenagers under the age of 18.

He added that 32 women, along with 18 children and teenagers, were among the injured. According to Kermanpour, 28 surgeries have been carried out so far, 460 people have been discharged from hospital, and 37 remain under treatment.

Iran’s figures have not been independently verified.

Kuwait’s state-owned oil company said on Saturday that repeated Iranian attacks struck one of its oil facilities, causing significant damage and leaving several people injured.

According to Kuwait News Agency (KUNA), the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation said the strikes resulted in extensive material damage at the facility. The company confirmed that several people were hurt, but did not provide details on the severity of the injuries or whether the attacks disrupted oil production or operations.

The United States has issued fresh travel and security advisories for parts of the Middle East as regional tensions remain high.

The US Embassy in Beirut urged American citizens to avoid travelling to Lebanon and advised those in the region to reconsider non-essential travel across the Middle East due to the possibility of sudden security escalation.

In a separate advisory, the US Embassy in Jerusalem warned Americans against travelling to Gaza, northern Israel and areas near the Egyptian border. The embassy said the Taba crossing remains the only recommended route for travel to and from Egypt.

Kuwait Petroleum Corporation said one of its vital oil sector facilities was hit in what it described as repeated Iranian attacks, resulting in several injuries and significant material damage, according to an Al Jazeera report.

The corporation said those injured received medical treatment and the affected site was evacuated as a precaution. It added that emergency response efforts are underway in coordination with the relevant government authorities to deal with the aftermath of the attack.

Jordan’s armed forces said they intercepted and shot down four drones that entered the country’s airspace over the past 24 hours. The military said the drones were successfully neutralised as part of efforts to safeguard the country’s airspace amid heightened regional tensions.

In a statement, the Jordanian Armed Forces said the incidents caused no casualties or material damage.

Israeli forces on Saturday arrested 10 Palestinians, including an elderly man, during raids in the Hebron Governorate of the occupied West Bank, according to an Al Jazeera report.

The report said Israeli troops stormed several homes across the governorate before carrying out the arrests.

Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun has departed for Washington after receiving an invitation from US President Donald Trump. The two leaders are expected to hold a bilateral summit at the White House to discuss the security situation in Lebanon and broader regional developments.

The talks are likely to focus on strengthening the ceasefire, restoring security and stability across Lebanon—particularly in the country’s south—along with Israel’s withdrawal from Lebanese territory it occupies and extending the Lebanese state’s authority throughout the country.

The United States and Iran continued exchanging strikes on Saturday aimed at infrastructure and military targets as their battle over the Strait of Hormuz intensified.

The US Central Command said in a post on X that its seventh straight night of strikes had hit “surveillance sites, military logistics infrastructure, underground weapons storage, and maritime capabilities.”

Iran, on the other hand, launched attacks on the US allies in the region. Kuwait said that it had intercepted Iranian missiles and that a water desalination plant was struck, causing a fire, the second such attack in two days in the tiny desert nation, which depends on desalination for 90 percent of its drinking water.

Several firefighters and a worker were injured while responding to fires that broke out at two locations following Iranian attacks in Kuwait on Saturday morning, according to an Al Jazeera report.

In a statement, the Fire Force said the injuries occurred during firefighting operations at the first incident. The affected personnel were evacuated from the site and taken for medical treatment. Authorities did not immediately provide details on the severity of the injuries or the exact locations that were targeted.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has claimed responsibility for a missile and drone attack on the US military’s Al-Azraq airbase in Jordan. In a statement, the IRGC said it targeted fighter jet shelters and a large aircraft parking area in what it described as a “devastating and simultaneous” strike.

The IRGC claimed the attack destroyed at least two American fighter jets and damaged several others, although the claims have not been independently verified and there has been no immediate confirmation from US or Jordanian authorities.

Kuwait on Saturday said that Iran has struck a water desalination plant, the second such attack in 2 days.

At least seven civilians were killed in recent US strikes on Iran’s southern Hormozgan province, according to an Al Jazeera report.

According to the report, Ahmad Moradi, a representative for the province, told Iran’s Tasnim news agency that the attacks over the past two nights left “about seven to eight people” dead, all of them civilians.

According to the report, one of the US strikes targeted a bridge in Hormozgan but hit two family cars, killing six people.

Iran has postponed final examinations for 11th and 12th-grade students scheduled for Sunday and Monday in four southern provinces as authorities cited deteriorating conditions in the region, according to the Tasnim news agency.

The Iranian Education Ministry said the suspension applies only to Hormozgan, Bushehr, Khuzestan, and Sistan and Baluchestan due to “ongoing unstable conditions in the southern region of the country”.

The ministry added that the postponed examinations will be held at a later date, while final exams in all other provinces, along with future examination dates for the affected areas, will continue as originally planned.

A loud explosion echoed across the Marjayoun plain in southern Lebanon before officials confirmed it had been caused by an interceptor missile, according to the country’s National News Agency (NNA).

Kuwait Airways has announced on social media that it is rescheduling flights following airspace closures affecting operations.

The latest disruption follows a similar period between February and April, when airspace closures around airports across the Gulf nations caused widespread disruption for hundreds of thousands of passengers.

Air raid warning sirens have been activated across Bahrain for the fifth time in the past few hours, with authorities continuing to issue public safety alerts.

The Interior Ministry urged residents to “remain calm and head to the nearest safe place”.

Kuwait said that another of its power and water plants had been struck in a fresh Iranian attack, forcing the shutdown of several power generation units a day after a similar incident.

In a statement, the Ministry of Electricity and Water said, “Another electricity and water distillation plant was targeted by a hostile attack that led to a fire erupting in one of the plant’s components,” adding that the incident resulted in the deactivation of some power generation units.

A fire has broken out in one of the components of a power and water desalination plant in Kuwait following the latest round of Iranian attacks, the country’s Ministry of Electricity, Water and Renewable Energy said.

In a statement, the ministry said, “This necessitated precautionary operational measures, consisting of disconnecting a number of generating units to preserve the safety of the plant and its workers and to ensure the stability of the electrical grid.”