Iran targets Bahrain and Kuwait after US strikes

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran targeted U.S. military sites in the Gulf on Wednesday after the United States launched strikes on several locations in Iran and reinstated sanctions on its oil sales. Washington said it was responding to Iranian attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz.

The crossfire sparked fears of a resumption of war in Iran, and US President Donald Trump fueled those concerns by saying the interim deal to suspend fighting was “finished” while adding that he would allow negotiations to continue.

The attacks have repeatedly threatened the fragile ceasefire, but Trump’s comments added new uncertainty and oil prices soared after his speech. A renewed conflict could engulf the entire Middle East and would likely once again halt energy shipments passing through the strait, which are crucial to the global economy.

“To me, I think it’s over,” Trump responded when asked about the status of the ceasefire. He added that US representatives could continue negotiations, but expressed doubts about the outcome. “They can talk, but I think they’re wasting their time,” he said.

Negotiations to reach a final deal were to begin after the one-day funeral of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed on February 28 in the first moments of the war. The funeral, which ends Thursday, was supposed to be a time of reduced tension.

The talks are expected to focus on the toughest issues, including fully reopening the strait and rolling back Tehran’s controversial nuclear program.

“The era of intimidation and extortion is over,” Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf wrote on X. “This isn’t going anywhere. We’re not giving in.”

Overnight US strikes target Iran

The U.S. military’s Central Command said U.S. forces launched the strikes “to impose high costs by targeting and attacking commercial vessels crewed by innocent civilians on an international waterway.”

It said it hit Iranian targets, including air defense systems, radars and more than 60 small boats used by Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guards.

These boats played a key role in the threat to shipping in the strait, through which a fifth of the world’s oil and natural gas traded before the war passed. Iran’s ability to shut down shipping on the waterway during the war proved its greatest strategic advantage as rising prices for energy, fertilizer and food pushed the United States toward a deal. On Wednesday, the price of Brent crude, the international standard, soared more than 6% after Trump’s comments.

The US military remains “ready to hold Iran accountable when the agreement is not respected or respected”, he added, asserting that this series of attacks had ended.

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Iranian state media reported explosions in several locations, including in Bandar Mahshahr, where a Guard member was killed. He also reported attacks on Bushehr, home to Iran’s nuclear complex.

On Wednesday morning, Bahrain, home to the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet, and Kuwait, home to U.S. Army forces, issued missile alerts. The Guard released a statement admitting to targeting U.S. military installations in both countries.

Kuwait said it had intercepted two ballistic missiles and 13 drones launched by Iran. The Electricity Ministry said a number of lines were out of service after shrapnel fell on them.

A similar wave of Iranian attacks on ships and US retaliations occurred late last month, which also led to Iranian attacks on Bahrain and Kuwait. Wednesday’s strikes came while Trump was in Türkiye for a summit of the NATO military alliance.

Anwar Gargash, a senior UAE diplomat, called the Iranian attacks on Bahrain and Kuwait “a clear indicator that Tehran remains unable to commit to the demands of de-escalation and turn the page on war.”

US revokes license to sell Iranian oil

Before the strikes, the United States revoked a license allowing the sale of Iranian oil under the interim deal. This suspended US sanctions and allowed Iran to openly sell its oil in US dollars for the first time in years. Iran has long been suspected of selling sanctioned crude to China at below-market prices.

The decision came after strikes in the maritime sector. An oil tanker was off the coast of Oman when it was hit and caught fire, the UK’s maritime trade operations center said. Iranian state television said the tanker was attacked after ignoring warnings, but did not directly claim responsibility for the attack.

Majed al-Ansari, a spokesman for the Qatari Foreign Ministry, said the tanker was carrying Qatari natural gas and called the strike an “unacceptable attack” on international shipping and global energy security. He said Qatar, which has been a key mediator alongside Pakistan in the talks, holds Iran “fully legally accountable.”

The other two ships suffered some damage, but no one was injured and both continued on their way, the British agency said.

Iran and the United States agreed under the interim deal to allow ships to pass through the strait without paying fees for 60 days. But Tehran insisted it must control the ships’ routes and pledged to charge passage fees later. This would upend decades of practice in waterways. The ships attacked Tuesday all appeared to be taking a route close to the coast of Oman, rather than the one ordered by Tehran.

The United States and many Gulf Arab states say they will not accept Iran charging for passage through the strait.

Mourners attend Khamenei’s funeral in Iraq

Khamenei’s funeral ceremonies took place on Wednesday in the Iraqi city of Najaf. Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian and other Iranian and Iraqi officials, including Prime Minister Ali Falah al-Zaidi, participate in the religious services. Funeral prayers will also be held later at the Imam Hussein shrine in Karbala.

Khamenei’s son, Iran’s new Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, has yet to appear at the ceremonies which began Saturday in Tehran. He is believed to be in hiding after being injured in the airstrike that killed his father.

Khamenei’s body will then be repatriated to Iran to be buried on Thursday at the Imam Reza shrine in Mashhad, his hometown.

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Kim reported from Ankara, Turkey. Associated Press editors Nasser Karimi in Tehran, Iran; Qassim Abdul-Zahra in Najaf, Iraq; and Collin Binkley in Washington contributed.

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