On the second day of renewed fire, US military began another round of strikes against Iran after President Donald Trump warned that Tehran would "pay the price" for stalled negotiations.
In response to the most recent US strikes on Iran, the country’s senior military leadership announced that the Strait of Hormuz has been completely closed.
The Houthi-run Foreign Ministry in Yemen has warned that ongoing US military strikes against Iran risk triggering a wider regional conflict with severe global consequences.
“The continuation of US aggression against Iran will not achieve the desired objectives, nor will it succeed in breaking the will of the Iranian people or undermining their resilience,” the ministry said.
Military action against Iran will only “lead to further entanglement and deepen America’s strategic predicament, with decisive failure being its outcome”, it said.
“The continued aggression carries serious consequences for global supply chains, international trade, oil and energy markets, threatening global economic stability,” it added.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has warned that the Middle East is being pulled into a deepening crisis, with far-reaching consequences.
“The Middle East is being pulled deeper into crisis & the consequences reach far beyond the region,” he said in a post on X.
“This week has brought wider attacks and further deterioration where the ceasefire is more like a lesser-fire,” he said.
“We should not minimize the risks of lesser fire becoming full fire,” he added, emphasising that “all parties must work towards a diplomatic settlement. No more attacks. No more excuses.”
The US State Department has shared a travel advisory warning people in Jordan to “seek overhead cover and shelter in place immediately”.
“Reports indicate missiles, drones, or rockets are in Jordanian airspace,” the State Department’s TravelGov social media account warned.
Kuwait on Thursday said it closed its airspace over ongoing Iranian attacks. Kuwait's Directorate General of Civil Aviation made the announcement. It said flights were being diverted to other airports, without elaborating.
Flights circled outside of Kuwait for some time before the announcement, after the military announced its air defences were firing.
"This measure comes in light of the state of Kuwait being subjected to sinful Iranian aggressions and the potential risks that may result from this on civil aviation traffic in the region," Kuwait said.
Kuwait International Airport took a direct Iranian hit in recent days, killing one person and wounding dozens.
-AP
Twenty-two countries including the United States and European nations jointly warned Iran on Thursday to stop attacking people "on our soil".
Iran's security services were condemned for their "deplorable" use of international and local criminal gangs for plots in Europe, North America and Australia.
"Attempts to kill, kidnap, harass, intimidate, or otherwise attack people on our soil, undermines national sovereignty and international norms. These actions must stop immediately," the countries said in a joint statement.
-AFP
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said Thursday that they had struck bases in Kuwait and Bahrain in response to the latest US strikes.
"During two waves of operations, eighteen important targets belonging to the US Army in the bases of Ali and Ahmad Ahmad Air Force (were hit)," the Guards said in a statement quoted by state-run IRNA, adding that they also "hit and destroyed Sheikh Isa air bases".
Iranian media earlier reported that Iran had attacked the US Fifth Fleet in Bahrain.
-AFP
The US military said on Wednesday that it had "completed" its latest wave of strikes against Iran, targeting "Iranian military surveillance capabilities, communication systems, and air defense sites across Iran."
"U.S. Marine Corps, Air Force, and Navy assets fired precision munitions on Iranian targets that posed a threat to U.S. forces and international commercial ships transiting regional waters," Central Command, which oversees forces in the region, posted on X.
-AFP
An Israeli strike on a vehicle in the southern Lebanese city of Sidon killed two people and sparked a fire that spread to nearby cars.
Israel has continued to attack Lebanon despite a US-announced ceasefire on April 16.
The United States launched a new wave of attacks against Iran on Wednesday night as efforts to end the three-month old war sputtered, and Tehran hit back saying it will target any ship going through the Strait of Hormuz.
US Central Command said American forces began "additional self-defense strikes" at 5:15 pm Washington time, early Thursday in Iran, against multiple targets in Iran, in response to what it called Tehran's "unwarranted and continued aggression."
Iranian media reported explosions across the country's south near the Strait of Hormuz, the same area where US forces had already bombarded air defense, radar and other sites on Tuesday. Iranian sources reported new hits by "enemy projectiles" in Qeshm, Kargan and Sirik.
The Iranian navy said it hit two ships trying to sail through the Strait of Hormuz, state television IRIB and the Mehr agency reported. Iranian media also reported that Iran had attacked the US Fifth Fleet in Bahrain, hitting communication antennas and radar facilities.
After the new American air strikes "any vessel traffic through the Strait of Hormuz will be targeted," the Khatam al-Anbiya command said, according to Tasnim news agency. The strait is now closed "completely closed to all types of vessel," the command said.