US strikes on 5 Iranian provinces kill 14, injure 78: Iranian health ministry

US strikes on five Iranian provinces over the past two days killed at least 14 people and injured 78 others, the Iranian Health Ministry said Thursday.

“The United States targeted five provinces of Iran with attacks on July 8 and 9,” Hossein Kermanpour, head of the ministry's Public Relations and Information Center, wrote in a post on the US social media company X.

He said the strikes had so far resulted in 14 deaths and 78 injuries.

According to the ministry, 47 of the injured remain hospitalized, while the remaining victims have been discharged after receiving medical treatment.

Three of the victims were killed in a strike near the southwestern city of Ahvaz, according to Iran's state news agency IRNA, which cited Valiollah Hayati, Khuzestan province's deputy governor for security affairs.

The latest casualty figures come amid renewed hostilities between the US and Iran following the collapse of a fragile ceasefire reached last month.

Traffic in Strait of Hormuz ‘grinds to a near halt’

Maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz ground to a near-halt following a second consecutive day of US strikes against Iran, according to Bloomberg News.

Al Jazeera stated that, citing ship tracking data, it said that among larger vessels, only a US-sanctioned supertanker was seen heading out of the Gulf alongside an Iranian-flagged container ship.

Some 14 cargo ships crossed the strait in both directions yesterday, it added, noting that the figure is the lowest since the US-Iran MoU on June 16.

An average of 34 ships transited the strait in the three weeks since the two nations agreed to the interim deal, it noted.

Iran claims drone strikes on Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar

Iran’s military said it carried out drone strikes targeting “US bases and strategic centres” in the Gulf.

The strikes targeted a Patriot missile system in Kuwait, an early warning satellite antenna site in Qatar, and fuel tanks belonging to the US military in Bahrain.

The Iranian military said it used “a large number of various types of drones” in the attacks.

It said Iran’s armed forces “will not allow the goals and aspirations of the foolish President of the United States to be realised under any circumstances and will defend the lofty ideals of the Islamic Revolution until final victory”.

Bahrain’s army says it thwarted several Iranian attacks

The Bahrain Defense Force (BDF) has said its air defence systems “confroted, intercepted and destroyed a number of treacherous Iranian aerial attacks” in the early morning hours, according to Al Jazeera.

The statement comes after Iran’s military claimed drone strikes targeting US bases in the Gulf, in Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar.

Qatar condemns attacks on commercial vessels in Hormuz

Qatar’s prime minister has condemned attacks targeting commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz in a phone call with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, according to Al Jazeera.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani and Araghchi “reviewed the latest developments regarding the military escalation between the United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran over the past two days”, a Foreign Ministry statement said.

He “emphasised that such actions undermine confidence, threaten the security of international navigation, and damage efforts aimed at consolidating regional security and stability”.

The Qatari prime minister further “stressed the need for all parties to commit to dialogue and diplomacy, and to implement what was agreed upon within the framework” of the interim US-Iran deal”.

He also “reiterated the State of Qatar’s support for all endeavors aimed at containing the escalation and reaching a comprehensive agreement that contributes to consolidating security and stability, and achieves sustainable peace in the region.”

Iran condemns NATO chief’s ‘willful complicity’ in US-Israeli war

Esmaeil Baghaei, spokesperson for Iran’s foreign ministry, condemned NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte’s comments on the US-Israel war on Tehran, accusing European nations of active complicity in the conflict.

“Mark Rutte’s repeated admissions of Europe’s willful complicity in the US-Israeli war of aggression against Iran only confirms, once again, that they were not impartial in this brutal unlawful aggression,” Baghaei wrote on X.

“Those who provided their territories, military bases, and infrastructure to enable the aggression cannot evade responsibility for their contribution to an unprovoked aggression and its grave consequences,” he added.

Baghaei’s comments come after Rutte on Wednesday backed the US’s latest attacks on Iran, saying they were “absolutely necessary”.

Earlier, he had also said NATO countries had provided logistical support to the US during the war in March, saying 4,000 to 5,000 US planes had taken off from bases in Europe in the first six weeks of the war.

US attacks hit bridges on roads leading to Mashhad: IRGC

The IRGC said its attacks on Bahrain and Kuwait were in retaliation for attacks on its southern coastal provinces and “two bridges in the eastern provinces towards the holy city of Mashhad”, the city where former Supreme Leader Khamenei will be buried.

The IRGC said the US attacks were aimed at overshadowing the “historic” funeral ceremony.

It also warned that if the US repeats its attacks, Iran’s “crushing responses would be expanded to include other American bases in the region”.

Earlier, the IRIB reported that US forces had fired seven missiles at the Aq Tekeh Khan Bridge outside the city of Aqqala, causing two explosions on a railway track.

US military carries out fresh strikes on Iran, prompting Iran attacks on Kuwait and Bahrain

The US military said on Wednesday it launched fresh strikes on Iran to keep the Strait of ‌Hormuz open to shipping, triggering Iranian attacks on Kuwait and Bahrain in the latest escalation to derail efforts to end the war.

The latest round of attacks, which the US said was carried out in response to Tuesday's assault on three cargo ships transiting the strait, came hours after President Donald Trump said he believed an interim ceasefire with Iran to be "over."

"US Central Command forces have started conducting additional strikes against Iran to further degrade their ability to threaten freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz," CENTCOM, the US military's Middle East ​command, wrote on X.

"The United States is holding Iran accountable for recent unjustified aggression against commercial shipping and civilian crews freely navigating a vital international waterway."

The US strikes rattled several cities along Iran's southern coast ​and left some areas without power. Iran responded with a second day of attacks on Kuwait and Bahrain, both home to US military bases.

"The US has yet to learn that bullying and breaking its commitments no longer come without a cost. Let me be clear: If you strike, you will be struck back," Iran's top negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, wrote on X.

"The Strait of ​Hormuz will be reopened only under Iranian arrangements, not through US threats."

The latest exchange of strikes appeared to dim hopes of turning a memorandum of understanding signed on June 17 into a permanent deal to end the war, which began with ​US-Israeli attacks on Iran on February 28.

Asked before a NATO summit in Turkey on Wednesday whether the memorandum of understanding was over, Trump said: "It's a very interesting question. To me, I think it's over. I don't want to deal with them."

Read: Iran deploys air defences after explosions heard in Bandar Abbas, Chabahar; US confirms new strikes

"If we ‌make a ⁠deal with Iran I'm not sure that will stick," Trump later said. "I found them to be very dishonourable people."

But Trump, who has repeatedly threatened to escalate military action before backing off, said he did not expect a return to full-fledged war, and that it was not clear whether the negotiations on reaching a permanent deal would continue.

Also on Wednesday, Trump said he did not think the war would restart: "Anything that happens is going to be over very quickly ... and will only make it safer, including for oil."

Wednesday's attacks pushed oil prices higher, with Brent crude futures rising about 1% to $78.80 a barrel by 5:54am PKT. Even so, prices remained well below the late-April peak of more than $120 a barrel.

Major Iran port city hit by strikes

Iranian media reported strikes primarily along Iran's ​southern coast, from the Strait of Hormuz to the ⁠Gulf of Oman.

Among the locations hit were Bandar Abbas, home to Iran's largest port and key navy and Revolutionary Guards facilities on the Strait of Hormuz, as well as Konarak and Chabahar, neighbouring coastal cities near Iran's border with Pakistan.

Electricity had been restored to most areas of Chabahar after strikes knocked out power for some in the ​city, Mehr news agency reported, citing the local utility. Media also reported that a maritime traffic control tower in Chabahar was hit.

A firefighter was killed in a ​strike on the airport in the ⁠southeastern city of Iranshahr, state media reported. In northern Iran, a US attack hit a railway bridge near the town of Aqqala, according to Press TV.

Prior to the US attacks on Wednesday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei had said US strikes had violated the memorandum by challenging a clause that "emphasizes the Islamic Republic of Iran's responsibility in determining arrangements for the safe passage of ships through the Strait of Hormuz".

A spokesperson for parliament's National Security Commission had said options for ⁠retaliation included withdrawing ​from the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), changing Iran's nuclear doctrine, and closing the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait at the mouth of the Red Sea, another crucial ​global shipping route.

In a letter to the United Nations Security Council on Wednesday, Iran's mission to the UN accused the United States of "blatant violation of the Charter of the United Nations and its international obligations" and said its attacks violated the memorandum of understanding signed by the ​two countries.