Iran attacked American bases in Jordan and Bahrain on Wednesday, telling its Gulf neighbors that it was their “responsibility” to prevent the US and Israel from exploiting their territory to strike the Islamic Republic.
The strikes came after the United States launched attacks on Iran in retaliation for the downing of an American helicopter, straining a ceasefire that went into force in April.
The exchange prompted international appeals for caution on the eve of the World Cup, which the United States is co-hosting and Iran is taking part in.
It has also called into question US President Donald Trump’s claim that discussions on a long-term settlement to the Middle East conflict were in their “final throes.”
The crisis, which began with US-Israeli strikes on Iran, threw the region into confusion and shook global markets before the tenuous truce was announced.
In Bahrain, an AFP correspondent in the capital Manama reported hearing multiple loud explosions as Iran’s Guards claimed to have hit a US facility there.
Iranian forces also launched “long-range missiles” at US facilities in Jordan, the Revolutionary Guards announced on Wednesday.
Jordan’s military reported shooting down five missiles with no casualties or damage, while Bahrain intercepted and destroyed “a number of Iranian aerial attacks.” Kuwait’s air defenses engaged “hostile aerial targets.” Iran has recently carried out deadly attacks in Kuwait as well.
Iran’s foreign ministry “reiterated the legal and moral responsibility of all countries in the region (especially those located along the southern shores of the Persian Gulf) to prevent the US military and Israel from using their territory or facilities to plan, organize, execute, or support hostile actions against Iran.”
The revelations came after the US military said that it had “completed” what Trump described as a retaliation assault on Iran in response to the downing of an Apache attack helicopter.
US Central Command (CENTCOM), which supervises American forces in the Middle East, reported on X that it had “struck Iranian air defense, ground control stations, and surveillance radar sites near the Strait of Hormuz.”
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi previously vowed retaliation, stating that his country’s military would “leave no attack or threat unanswered.”
