US hits Iranian cities after Trump threat, Tehran hits back with counterattacks

US hits Iranian cities, Tehran hits back with counterattacks

Tensions in the Middle East have escalated further as the United States launched strikes on Iran for a third consecutive night, with President Donald Trump indicating he is also considering an attack on an Iranian nuclear facility.

The US Central Command said in a statement that the latest strikes targeted facilities related to Iran's ability to control the Strait of Hormuz, including coastal security bases, air defence shelters and military installations involved in disrupting shipping in the strait.

In response, Iran's military said it struck a US naval vessel and later a military base in Kuwait, claiming to have targeted communication centres, fuel depots and Patriot missile defence systems. Iran also claimed to have downed an MQ-1 drone over the Strait of Hormuz and warned of further strikes on other US bases in the region.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it had carried out missile and drone strikes on the US Fifth Fleet in Bahrain, claiming to have set fire to fuel storage facilities and destroyed a Patriot radar, an air control radar, a Sea-RAM warning system and an unmanned surface vessel control centre.

Multiple Iranian cities and islands were targeted, including Abu Musa, Qeshm and Kish islands, as well as the commercial port of Bandar Abbas. Strikes were also reported in Konarak, Chabahar, Bushehr and Khuzestan provinces, which house key energy infrastructure.

Iran's Mehr News Agency reported explosions in Bushehr and Omidiyeh city, where at least four people were injured.

Trump told Newsmax that Iran's military capability has suffered significant losses, claiming that 159 warships are now at the bottom of the sea, 200 fighter jets are destroyed, and 84 per cent of radar, air defence and weapons production capability has been eliminated. He said Iran has been "taken back almost to the Stone Age."

The UAE Defence Ministry said two oil tankers were hit by Iranian cruise missiles, killing one Indian sailor and injuring eight others. Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency said the IRGC had carried out the strikes.

Trump also announced on Truth Social that the US will impose a naval blockade on Iranian ports and a 20 per cent charge on all goods passing through the Strait of Hormuz, effective from Tuesday afternoon. Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi responded sarcastically, saying Trump was right that safe passage should be paid for, but 20 percent was too high.