US-Iran Strikes Escalate: Kuwait, Bahrain Activate Air Defences as UN Chief Warns of ‘Full War’ in Middle East

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Lebanon’s Ministry of Health said the death toll from Israeli attacks on Lebanon since 3rd March had risen to 3,696 by Wednesday, with 11,413 others injured.

The US Central Command has confirmed that Iran did not close the Strait of Hormuz, and zero US warships were struck, in a counterpoint to IRGC claims. “Commercial ships are continuing to transit in and out of the Strait of Hormuz tonight.

Sirens sounded across Bahrain early on Thursday after authorities issued a security alert, the state-run Bahrain News Agency reported, citing the Interior Ministry.

Officials urged the public to follow safety instructions as authorities monitored the situation. The brief warning comes amid heightened regional tensions in the Gulf, where countries have periodically activated civil defence systems in response to missile threats, drone activity, or wider instability linked to conflicts in the Middle East.

There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties. Authorities said further information would be released once verified. Bahrain hosts the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet.

President Donald Trump renewed threats against Iran and its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), signalling renewed US military strikes as tensions between Washington and Tehran continue to escalate.

“We hit them hard yesterday and we’re going to hit them again hard today,” Trump said, referring to recent US military operations against Iranian-linked targets.

The president also expressed frustration over stalled negotiations with Tehran, claiming the two sides had been close to reaching an agreement before talks broke down.

“We were really close to a deal — but they keep tapping us along. They keep playing us for suckers because, you know what? They dealt with some very stupid Presidents,” Trump said.

The remarks came less than a day after the United States launched what officials described as retaliatory strikes following the reported downing of a US Army AH-64 Apache helicopter near the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most strategically important maritime corridors.

Trump’s comments were followed by reports of blasts in Bandar Abbas and several other sites in Iran, marking a sustained pressure campaign combining military action with diplomatic demands aimed at forcing Tehran back to the negotiating table.

Iran has announced the “closure” of the Strait of Hormuz to all ships and oil tankers as tensions in the region flared following Iran’s downing of a U.S. Apache helicopter on Monday during a patrol in the region.

Tensions between the US and Iran have intensified in recent days amid broader regional conflict, including efforts to enforce blockades, protect commercial shipping and counter Iranian-backed actions. Iran has denied responsibility for unprovoked attacks and accused the US of aggression, while the US has described its operations as proportional and defensive.

The US military has launched new attacks on multiple targets in Iran.

Iranian state media reported “naval clashes” between Iranian and US forces south of Iran, near the Hormuz Strait.

The reports did not provide further details on the scale of the confrontation or any casualties.

Explosions were heard in Bandar Abbas, Qeshm Island, Minab, Sirik, Kargan as US launches new attacks on multiple targets in Iran.

US Central Command forces began “additional self-defence strikes” against multiple targets in Iran late on Wednesday and into Thursday at the direction of US President Donald Trump, the military said, amid escalating hostilities sparked by the downing of a US Army Apache helicopter.

The strikes started at 5:15 p.m. ET (1:15 AM Gulf Standard Time on Thursday), according to a CENTCOM statement posted on X. They come in response to “Iran’s unwarranted and continued aggression,” the command said.

The latest action follows U.S. strikes on Tuesday that targeted Iranian air defence, ground control stations and surveillance radar sites near the Strait of Hormuz. Those earlier strikes were a direct response to Iran’s downing of a US Apache helicopter on Monday during a patrol in the region.

US War Secretary Pete Hegseth, who just walked out of the US Central Command Headquarters in Florida, said the US military will be “busy tonight” because of fresh Iran strikes. “Central Command will be busy tonight because President Trump said we will be hitting Iran hard — and we will be!” “They’ve been ‘tap, tap, tapping’ on the deal? Instead, they’re gonna have tap, tap, tap, bombs dropping on key facilities from the United States of America.”

Hundreds of people rallied on Wednesday evening in Beirut’s southern suburbs, a Hezbollah stronghold, in support of Iran and its allies in the Middle East war, AFP correspondents said.

The rally came despite the ongoing war between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah, with Israel pounding south and east Lebanon daily and still occasionally striking Beirut’s southern suburbs, known locally as Dahiyeh, most recently on Sunday.

Some held images of Iranian leaders, including the current supreme leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, and his father and predecessor Ali Khamenei, who was killed in US-Israeli strikes on February 28 at the start of the Middle East war.

Lana Nusseibeh, Minister of State, received His Excellency Javier Colomina, NATO Deputy Assistant Secretary General for Political Affairs and Security Policy, and the NATO Secretary General’s Special Representative for the Southern Neighbourhood.

Her Colomina’s visit followed a productive phone call in March between UAE President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, as well as a series of discussions between senior officials from the UAE and NATO on ways to deepen and strengthen cooperation.

During their meeting in Abu Dhabi, the two sides discussed the evolving geopolitical landscape in Europe and the Middle East, underscoring a shared interest in advancing cooperation to enhance the resilience, flexibility, and sustainability of defense supply chains with trusted partners, strengthen interoperability, and explore new areas of collaboration.

Iranian president said Masoud Pezeshkian said: “Critical infrastructures are the lifeblood of the people. Threats to target them — from transportation networks to the electricity and water industries — are not a show of strength but a sign of desperation in the face of a nation’s will. Iran, relying on the knowledge and capabilities of its specialists, national unity, and solidarity, will stand firm against any pressure or threat.”

FIFA president Gianni Infantino said on the eve of the World Cup on Wednesday that world football’s governing body “does not control everything” when it came to issuing visas and who to let into the United States.

Asked if he felt FIFA had “lost control of the tournament” after Somali referee Omar Artan was turned away at the US border and members of Iran team’s support staff were refused visas, Infantino said at a press conference: “We try always to find solutions, but then we need to respect that we are not the kings of the world who can rule over governments and police forces, we are a sports organization.”

The United States of America, the United Kingdom, Albania, Australia, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, New Zealand, North Macedonia, Norway, Portugal, and Sweden condemned the lethal plotting and other malign actions in Europe, North America and Australia by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Intelligence Organisation, Quds Force, and Ministry of Intelligence and Security, including those against Iranian dissidents, journalists and Jewish and Israeli communities and interests.

”We stand united in our determination to protect our countries and our people against these threats. The Islamic Republic of Iran must halt these actions now. The relationship between the Iranian security services and international and local criminal groups is long-standing. Their use of these groups is deplorable, a joint statement said.

An Israeli military official said Wednesday that a key Israeli airbase had sustained damage during this week’s missile attacks by Iran, though it remains unclear whether it took a direct hit.

“We confirm that there was an impact at the base but at a non-critical area,” the official told AFP, referring to the Ramat David base in northern Israel.

“We are investigating whether it was caused by a shrapnel or it was a direct impact. It was most likely a large piece of shrapnel but there was no damage caused to equipment or personnel,” the official added.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday called on the Lebanese people to join Israel’s fight against Hezbollah, saying their country had been taken “hostage” by the militant group.

“Israel is not at war with you. We are at war with Hezbollah, that has taken your country hostage… We yearn for peace with you, with Lebanon,” Netanyahu said in a video statement directed at the Lebanese people.

India summoned the senior US diplomat in New Delhi Wednesday to lodge “strong protest” after an attack on a vessel off the coast of Oman left three Indian crewmembers missing. 

The foreign ministry “summoned (US) charge d’affaires, lodged a strong protest” over the attack on the commercial vessel, a senior Indian government official told AFP. 

Twenty-one other Indian crew members were rescued from the commercial vessel Settebello, with the foreign ministry condemning the attack in a statement. 

The Ministerial Council of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) strongly condemned the Iranian drone and ballistic missile attacks on the Kingdom of Bahrain, the State of Kuwait and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, describing them as a blatant aggression against the sovereignty of states, the security of their peoples and the safety of their territories, as well as a flagrant violation of international law, the Charter of the United Nations and the principles of good neighbourliness.

An American warplane fired on and disabled a tanker in the Gulf of Oman that was attempting to transport oil from Iran in violation of a US blockade, the US military said Wednesday.

Late the previous day, the aircraft “fired precision munitions into the ship’s engine room after the crew repeatedly failed to comply with directions from American forces,” US Central Command said in a post on X, identifying the vessel as the Palau-flagged M/T Settebello.

The official White House Rapid Response account (@RapidResponse47) posted on X a statement from President Donald Trump (@POTUS) on Iran, in which he said: “We hit them hard yesterday and we’re going to hit them again hard today… And we’ll see what happens with the deal. We were really close to a deal — but they keep tapping us along.

Three Indian crew members are missing and 21 others were rescued after an attack Wednesday on a commercial vessel off the coast of Oman, India’s foreign ministry said.

“We condemn the attack on the commercial vessel Settebello off the coast of Oman,” the ministry said in a statement, adding that the Indian embassy “is closely monitoring the situation and proactively coordinating with the Omani authorities in the ongoing search and rescue operation”.

United Nations chief Antonio Guterres warned Wednesday of the risk of return to “full war” in the Middle East after Iran and the United States traded strikes.

His intervention came after Iran and the United States once again traded fire following the downing of an American helicopter, further straining a ceasefire that took effect in April but has been marked by sporadic flare-ups of violence. 

“We should not minimize the risks of a lesser fire becoming full fire, or in another word — full war,” Secretary-General Guterres said at a meeting of the UN Security Council devoted to the situation in the Middle East.

The UN nuclear watchdog’s governing board on Wednesday approved a western resolution demanding that Iran “without delay” provide information on its uranium stockpile and production facilities.

Iran’s nuclear sites were widely hit in US-Israel attacks and Iran has effectively ended access for International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors.

The resolution, drawn up by Britain, France, Germany and the United States, said it is “essential and urgent” that Iran “without delay” provides the IAEA with “complete information on nuclear material inventories and design information for facilities”.

Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon killed at least 12 people on Wednesday, a Lebanese medical source said, as Israel carried out strikes across the south including the coastal city of Sidon.

Earlier, Israeli forces seized a municipal councillor and a worker from the border town of Kfarshuba, according to Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency, while Israel said it “apprehended” two people who approached its soldiers.

A ceasefire in Lebanon meant to have gone into force in April was never observed, and a new conditional truce announced after Lebanese-Israeli talks in Washington last week was rejected by militant group Hezbollah and both sides have continued to trade fire.

Wall Street stocks dipped early Wednesday following data showing an uptick in US inflation as the United States and Iran traded a fresh round of military fire.

Oil prices moved modestly higher after the US military carried out strikes on Iran following the downing of an American helicopter.

About 10 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.6 percent at 50,579.83.

The broad-based S&P 500 declined 0.4 percent to 7,360.71 while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 0.4 percent to 25,569.36.

The League of Arab States condemned in the srongest terms the Iranian aggression against the State of Kuwait, the Kingdom of Bahrain, and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, carried out today, Wednesday, through ballistic missile and drone attacks.

In a statement issued today, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, Secretary-General of the League of Arab States, expressed his deep concern over Iran’s continued attacks on Arab territories as a means of escalation in its disputes with other non-Arab countries.

He stressed that such an approach is completely unacceptable and reveals an Iranian attempt to destabilize Arab regional security while simultaneously exerting pressure on the international community.

The Israeli military said on Wednesday that it had detained two people who approached troops in southern Lebanon and taken them to Israel for questioning.

“Earlier today, IDF soldiers identified two suspected individuals who approached the area in which IDF soldiers are operating in southern Lebanon,” the military said in a statement to AFP. “Following the identification and in order to rule out any threat, the soldiers apprehended the suspected individuals, who were transferred to Israeli territory for further questioning.”

Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon killed at least 12 people on Wednesday, a Lebanese medical source said, as state media reported Israeli strikes across the south.

“The number of martyrs from the Israeli airstrikes in the town of Tayr Dibba is eight, and in Deir Qanun al-Nahr it is four,” the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity. State media had reported at least four Israeli strikes on Tayr Dibba and two on Deir Qanun al-Nahr.

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday said that Iran has taken too long to negotiate a deal over the conflict in the Middle East and will now “have to pay the price.”

Trump’s social media post, in which he asserted that the Iranian military has been “completely defeated,” came after the United States and Iran exchanged fire, straining a ceasefire that took effect in April. 

“The Bully of the Middle East is DEAD!!! They’ve taken too long to negotiate a deal that would have been great for them, now they will have to pay the price!!!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

The Arab Republic of Egypt strongly condemned on Wednesday the Iranian attacks targeting the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, the Kingdom of Bahrain, and the State of Kuwait.

“These attacks constitute a flagrant violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of these sister nations and represent a highly dangerous escalation that threatens the security and stability of the entire region,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation, and Egyptians Abroad said in a statement.

Egypt affirmed its full solidarity with Jordan, Bahrain, and Kuwait in confronting these unacceptable attacks and its support for all measures taken by these countries to preserve their security and stability and protect their citizens and national assets.

The statement added that the security and stability of the Arab states are an integral part of Egyptian and Arab national security, reiterating its categorical rejection of any actions or practices that aim to undermine the sovereignty of states or threaten their security and territorial integrity.

Egypt stressed the importance of de-escalation and respect for the rules of international law in order to preserve the security and stability of the region

US President Donald Trump’s presence at the NATO summit in Ankara next month will be an important moment for the stability of the military alliance, Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Wednesday.

“The announcement that US President Trump will attend the summit in person is a significant step in terms of the alliance’s stability,” the Turkish leader told lawmakers from his ruling AKP party.

Last week, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed Trump would attend the July 7-8 summit in the Turkish capital, as concerns linger about Washington’s commitment to the transatlantic alliance.

“We’re still in NATO, but NATO needs significant changes,” Rubio told US lawmakers, describing the summit of the 32 member states as “probably the most important meeting in NATO’s history”.

Erdogan said Turkey had intensified its preparations “to ensure the Ankara summit becomes a landmark in NATO’s history”.

Relations within the alliance have been put under significant strain since the United States and Israel began bombing Iran on February 28.

European governments declined to join the war, which was also opposed by Turkey, with Ankara working hard towards efforts to end to the fighting.

Iran’s foreign ministry said on Wednesday that the United States had damaged the ongoing international diplomatic effort to end the war, after more US strikes on targets in southern Iran.

“Unfortunately, the United States is damaging this diplomatic process through the contradictory messages it sends, its repeated shifts in positions and demands, and, worst of all, through repeated violations of the ceasefire,” foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said, in a video message carried by Iranian media.

“Any diplomatic process is damaged by the use of force and by resorting to unlawful actions on the ground.”

The General Command of the Bahrain Defence Force said its air defence systems had successfully intercepted and destroyed Iranian missile and drone attacks, accusing Tehran of continuing what it described as a systematic hostile campaign targeting civilians in the kingdom.

The military said all branches and units remain at the highest levels of readiness and defensive preparedness to protect Bahrain.

It also urged the public to avoid approaching unfamiliar or suspicious objects that may be remnants of the attacks and to report them immediately. The Royal Field Engineering Unit, it said, remains fully prepared to safely deal with such objects to ensure the safety of citizens and residents.

The General Command said the use of missiles and drones against civilians and private property constituted a violation of international humanitarian law and praised the combat readiness and vigilance of its personnel.

China said Wednesday it was “deeply concerned” over the conflict in the Middle East and urged against escalation after Washington carried out strikes on Iran over the downing of a US helicopter.

“Various relevant parties should maintain calm and exercise restraint, stop intensifying the conflict and escalating the situation, take concrete measures to ease and cool down tensions,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian told a news briefing.

Saudi Arabia launched its second national carrier Riyadh Air after more than a year of delays on Wednesday, defying the economic turmoil triggered by the Middle East war and strong competition from established Gulf airlines.

A London-bound Boeing 787 Dreamliner in Riyadh Air’s white and lavender livery took off at 2:30am (2330 GMT Tuesday), putting in motion a flagship project in Saudi Arabia’s push to reduce its economic reliance on oil.

Riyadh Air, the country’s second state-owned airline after Jeddah-based Saudia, is meant to help turn the Saudi capital into a global hub to rival Dubai, the world’s busiest for international passengers.

“We want to bring glamour, we want to bring refinement, we want to bring grace back,” Riyadh Air CEO Tony Douglas told AFP.

The launch, originally planned for 2025, was set back by delivery delays from Boeing, which has suffered a series of manufacturing and safety problems in recent years.

It also follows unprecedented attacks from Iran, which has fired thousands of drones and missiles at Gulf targets including airports, casting the wealthy region into sudden economic uncertainty.

But, for Douglas, ex-CEO of Abu Dhabi’s Etihad airline, the inaugural flight is “the culmination of four years’ worth of preparation”.

“I think Riyadh, as a result of its geography, during this particular point in time, has been less affected” by the attacks, he said, seated in a Riyadh Air Dreamliner cabin at a pre-launch event.

“You have the trials and the tribulations, you win some, you lose some, you make progress, you sometimes have setbacks, but you have made it, and this day we’ve made it,” added the CEO.

Iranian Foreign Minister Seyyed Abbas Araghchi held separate late-night telephone calls with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan to review the latest regional developments following US military strikes on areas in southern Iran, according to Iran’s IRNA news agency.

The discussions focused on the rapidly evolving security situation after what Tehran described as American aggression against Iranian territory.

During both calls, Araghchi condemned the US strikes as a violation of Iran’s national sovereignty and territorial integrity. He stressed Iran’s right to self-defence and said the country’s Armed Forces’ retaliatory response was legitimate.

IRNA on X published footage showing the firing of Qadr, Emad and Kheibar Shekan long-range solid- and liquid-fuel missiles at what it described as American targets in the region, in response to a Wednesday morning attack.

The report said Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Aerospace Force units used long-range solid-fuel missiles to destroy four major targets, including F-35 aircraft hangars and a US military command-and-control centre in Al-Azraq, Jordan.

Iran’s foreign ministry said Wednesday that its neighbours in the region had a “legal and moral responsibility” to prevent American and Israeli strikes, as Tehran and Washington traded attacks.

In a statement, Iran’s foreign ministry “reiterated the legal and moral responsibility of all countries in the region (especially those located along the southern shores of the Arabian Gulf) to prevent the US military and Israel from using their territory or facilities to plan, organise, execute, or support hostile actions against Iran”.

The Jordanian military said on Wednesday it shot down five missiles launched from Iran, as Tehran and Washington engaged in tit-for-tat strikes after the downing of a US helicopter.

“We intercepted and shot down five missiles launched from Iran towards Azraq. The interception resulted in debris falling, but there were no casualties or material damage,” the Jordanian Armed Forces said in a statement.

The UAE joined Bahrain, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Latvia, the UK, the US and the EU in a joint press stakeout highlighting longstanding concerns over Iran’s nuclear programme and what they described as Tehran’s continued failure to meet its safeguards obligations and fully cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

The statement came ahead of a meeting of the UN Security Council’s 1737 sanctions committee, held after what participants described as Iran’s attacks on neighbouring countries using thousands of drones and ballistic missiles. The UAE stressed the importance of resuming the committee’s work and called for the swift appointment of its chair and panel of experts to ensure effective oversight of sanctions implementation and address compliance issues.

Kuwait’s military said Wednesday its air defences were engaging “hostile aerial targets”, as the United States and Iran traded attacks after the downing of an American helicopter.

“The General Staff of the Army announces that Kuwaiti air defence systems are currently engaging hostile aerial targets in accordance with established operational procedures,” the Kuwaiti army posted on X, without specifying their origin.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said Wednesday they had struck four targets at a US base in Jordan, as Tehran pressed its attack in response to fresh US strikes over the downing of a helicopter.

Iranian forces “targeted and destroyed four major targets, including F35 fighter nests at an air base and the US child-killing military control command centre in Al-Azraq, Jordan”, the Guards said in a statement quoted by state-run IRNA, adding that they were carried out by “long-range missiles”.

An air raid alert was issued in Bahrain, the Gulf country’s interior ministry said on Wednesday, after Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they struck a US base in Bahrain.

“The siren has been sounded .Citizens and residents are urged to remain calm and head to the nearest safe place,” the ministry said on X.

Global energy markets jumped early on Wednesday trading in Asia, with benchmark crude prices edging higher. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose 0.42 points, or 0.48%, to $88.62 a barrel, as of 1.22am GMT (10:22 am Tokyo) on Wednesday (June 10, 2026).

Brent crude, the international benchmark, gained 0.52 points, or 0.57%, to $91.97 a barrel, reflecting traders’ reaction continued tightness in global supply expectations and risks around the Strait of Hormuz.

The US military said late Tuesday that it had “completed” its retaliatory strikes against Iran over the downing of an attack helicopter.

US Central Command (CENTCOM), which oversees American forces in the Middle East, said on X that it had “completed self-defense strikes against Iran.”

“CENTCOM forces struck Iranian air defense, ground control stations, and surveillance radar sites near the Strait of Hormuz with precision munitions from US Air Force and Navy fighter jets,” the post said.

Iranian media outlets reported fresh attacks in areas near the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, as US forces carried out what President Donald Trump described as retaliatory strikes over a downed helicopter.

Explosions were heard on Qeshm Island and in the port city of Bandar Abbas on Iran’s southern coast in the early hours of Wednesday, the Mehr and Fars news agencies posted on Telegram.

US forces carried out strikes against Iran on Wednesday in what President Donald Trump said was retaliation for the downing of an American helicopter by the Islamic Republic a day earlier.

Iranian media reported at least two series of explosions along Iran’s southern coast near the Strait of Hormuz.

Digital news outlet Axios reported that US forces had attacked several Iranian air defense systems and radar systems around the strait.

Following the strikes, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi threatened to retaliate.

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