(Mojtaba Khamenei. Photo Credit; CNN)
Iran has att@cked American bases in Jordan and Bahrain, warning its Gulf neighbours of their “responsibility” to prevent the United States and Israel from using their territory to strike the Islamic Republic.
The strikes came after the US carried out att@cks on Iran in response to the d0wning of an American helicopter, further straining a ceasefire that took effect in April.
The exchange has drawn international calls for restraint on the eve of the World Cup, which the US is co-hosting and Iran is participating in, while also casting doubt on President Donald Trump’s claim that negotiations toward an enduring settlement were in their “final throes.”
In Bahrain, several loud explosions were reported in the capital Manama as Iran’s Revolutionary Guards confirmed striking a US base there.
Iranian forces also fired long-range missiles at US targets in Jordan, though Jordan’s military said it sh0t down five missiles with no casualties or material damage.
Bahrain similarly said it intercepted and destroyed a number of Iranian aerial att@cks, while Kuwait’s military also reported its air defences engaging hostile aerial targets.
Iran’s foreign ministry reiterated what it described as the legal and moral responsibility of all regional countries particularly those along the southern shores of the Persian Gulf to prevent the US military and Israel from using their territory to plan or execute hostile actions against Iran.
The developments followed the US military’s confirmation that it had “completed” retaliatory strikes on Iranian air defence systems, ground control stations, and surveillance radar sites near the Strait of Hormuz.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had earlier vowed that his country would “leave no attack or threat unanswered.”
The escalation prompted calls for de-escalation from Russia and China. Moscow expressed extreme concern over the renewed US-Iran armed confrontation, urging both sides to exercise restraint, while Beijing called on the warring parties to stop intensifying the conflict and take concrete steps to ease tensions.
Hours before the latest flare-up, Trump had said peace talks were in their final stages a claim he has repeated in recent weeks suggesting a resolution within “two or three days.”
However, the d0wning of an American Apache helicopter on Monday prompted him to declare that the US was responding “in a strong manner.”
The ceasefire had already faced a serious test over the weekend when Iran and Israel briefly resumed att@cks before announcing a halt.
Iran has insisted any deal must include a truce in Lebanon, which was drawn into the conflict when Iran-backed Hezbollah militants fired rockets at Israel on March 2.
Israel responded with airstrikes and a ground invasion that has since k!lled more than 3,600 people. Lebanese officials reported 11 people k!lled in airstrikes on the southern city of Tyre on Tuesday, with the Israeli military warning the entire city to evacuate.
The renewed fighting has also overshadowed efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz a critical waterway for global fuel supplies which Iran has blockaded since the start of the war.
Crude prices rose one percent on Wednesday amid dimming prospects of a deal, having fallen as much as five percent the previous day on optimism that an agreement would be reached.
The Apache helicopter is the second crewed aircraft Washington has confirmed was sh0t down by Iran during the war, following the loss of an F-15 fighter plane in April.
Both crew members were rescued after the helicopter went down near the coast of Oman.