Iran Strikes Kuwait and Bahrain After US Retaliatory Air Raids

On May 5, Iran launched attacks on Bahrain and Kuwait in retaliation for a US airstrike against five of its targets the previous day, escalating tensions and threatening the fragile ceasefire agreement the two sides had reached in mid-June.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) confirmed the Sunday strikes, saying it had fired ballistic missiles and drones at the US Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait and the US Fifth Fleet at Salman Port in Bahrain.

Bahrain condemned the attacks, saying they violated its sovereignty and undermined "opportunities for de-escalation and stability in the region." Kuwait, meanwhile, described "Iran's repeated vicious acts of aggression" as "a flagrant violation of its sovereignty."

Earlier on Saturday, US forces struck targets in Sirik, Bandar-e Lengeh and Qeshm Island in Iran. US Central Command (CENTCOM) said its naval and air forces "conducted airstrikes tonight against 10 Iranian military targets at multiple locations in and around the Strait of Hormuz." The strikes were described as retaliation for an Iranian drone attack on the oil tanker Kiku.

According to CENTCOM, the Panama-flagged tanker was carrying more than two million barrels of crude oil when it was attacked while transiting near the strait early Saturday. Britain's UKMTO maritime security agency said the tanker was hit and sustained damage to the bridge, but all crew members were safe.

The weekend attacks followed a US airstrike on Iran on Friday, itself a response to drone attacks on ships near the Strait of Hormuz. Earlier, the Singapore-flagged container ship Ever Lovely was struck by a drone on Thursday; no casualties were reported.

Iran stated that ships transiting the strait could only use a route designated by Iran and warned that vessels using any other route would violate the ceasefire. The International Maritime Organization suspended plans on Thursday to evacuate vessels stranded at the strait after the attack on the Ever Lovely.

President Donald Trump said on Saturday that Tehran had violated the ceasefire signed on June 17. "There may come a time when we can no longer act reasonably, and will be forced to militarily finish the job we started so successfully," he posted on social media. "If that happens, the Islamic Republic of Iran will cease to exist!"

Iran's Foreign Ministry condemned the US airstrikes on its monitoring and reconnaissance facilities along its southern coast, calling them "brutal attacks" that violated the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and the UN Charter. Iran vowed to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity against "US military aggression."

The MoU, signed by the US and Iran, extended a ceasefire in a war that began with US-Israeli strikes on Iran in February, giving both sides 60 days to negotiate an end to the conflict. Access to the Strait of Hormuz was a key element of the MoU. During the war, Iran blocked the waterway through which about 20 percent of the world's oil is shipped, causing a global energy crisis. Article 5 of the MoU stipulates that Iran will "make best-effort arrangements to ensure the safety of commercial vessels" transiting the strait for 60 days, while Iran, Oman and other Gulf states will discuss future management of the strait.

Defence analyst Wolfgang Pusztai told Al Jazeera that neither the US nor Iran wanted further escalation, but "there is a risk that it could happen unintentionally." He warned: "If there are some hits on residential areas, if a large number of civilians are killed in Gulf Arab states, or if a US base is seriously hit killing US soldiers, the situation could easily get out of control."