Iran Guards say they have targeted the US Fifth Fleet in Bahrain
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said on Wednesday it had targeted what it described as command-and-control, logistics, fuel and military equipment facilities belonging to the US Fifth Fleet in Bahrain.
This was in response to what it said were US actions in the Indian Ocean and efforts to control the Strait of Hormuz and restrict shipping routes.
The Guards warned that if Washington sought to block the region’s oil and gas exports by controlling maritime routes, other export routes serving US and allied interests could also be closed, saying regional energy exports would be “for everyone or for no one”.
Earlier on Wednesday, Bahrain’s Interior Ministry said air raid sirens had sounded and urged residents to remain calm and seek shelter.
US military’s Central Command says it has ended the latest round of strikes on Iran
Iran Guards say Hormuz to remain closed until US ends ‘acts of aggression’
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said on Wednesday the Strait of Hormuz would remain closed until the United States ends its “acts of aggression”, while warning that other regional oil export routes could also become targets.
“The enemy should know that now that its maritime raiders have blocked the Indian Ocean route for oil and gas exports to the world – thereby endangering the interests of America’s economic rivals – it should also expect the closure of other oil and gas export routes that serve the interests of the United States and its allies,” the statement said.
They did not elaborate on which routes could be affected.
“Oil and gas exports from the region will either be available for everyone or for no one,” they added.
In a separate statement, the Guards said: “The retaliatory operations of the fighters will continue, and the Strait of Hormuz will remain closed until the United States ends its acts of aggression.”
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Iran says it attacked US targets in Jordan and Kuwait
Iranian state television reported on Wednesday that Iran’s army and the Revolutionary Guards carried out separate attacks on US targets in Jordan and Kuwait after US forces struck the Islamic republic.
The army said it targeted the Al-Azraq base in Jordan with drones, state TV IRIB reported. Separately, the Guards said they fired cruise missiles at a US military logistics centre at Mina Abdullah in Kuwait, stressing that the Strait of Hormuz would remain closed “until the United States ends its acts of aggression”.
Kuwait intercepts Iranian drone attacks
Kuwait’s military said it was intercepting Iranian attack drones, while Bahrain activated air raid sirens after the United States carried out more strikes against Iran.
“Kuwaiti air defences are currently engaging hostile drone attacks following the nefarious Iranian aggression,” the Kuwaiti army said. Bahrain’s interior ministry urged citizens and residents to remain calm and head to the nearest safe place.
Air raid sirens activated in Bahrain
Bahrain sounded an air raid siren, the interior ministry said on Wednesday, after the United States carried out strikes against Iran and reimposed its naval blockade.
“The siren has been sounded,” the interior ministry said on X. “Citizens and residents are urged to remain calm and head to the nearest safe place.”
Oil prices rise as US-Iran tensions disrupt Strait of Hormuz
Oil rose on Wednesday as President Donald Trump reimposed a naval blockade on all Iranian ports and Iran launched retaliatory strikes on US infrastructure in the region.
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For the second straight session, Brent closed at its highest since June 12 and West Texas Intermediate at its highest since June 15 and rose further in early Wednesday trade.
Brent rose $1.46, or 1.72%, to $86.19 a barrel by 0029 GMT, while WTI was up $1.11, or 1.4%, to $80.40 a barrel.
Oil prices closed up 2% to a one-month high on Tuesday as attacks deepened a supply disruption in the Strait of Hormuz, where some one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas transited prior to the beginning of the war.
Early on Wednesday, the US also began a fresh round of strikes “to continue degrading Iranian capabilities used to attack commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz,” the US military said.
