Iran Launches Missile and Drone Attacks on Gulf States After U.S. Strikes

CENTCOM Strikes 140 Military Targets Across Iran

Coordinated Strikes Across the Gulf

The dawn attacks on Sunday morning followed hours after the United States Central Command (CENTCOM) reported it had struck approximately 140 military targets across Iran, including missile and drone launch sites, naval assets, and ammunition storage facilities. Iranian state media stated that one army officer was killed during the U.S. operation. In response, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) warned that “the time for restraint is over” and cautioned that new U.S. attacks will result in even more devastating responses.

The scope of the retaliation spanned the Gulf. Euronews’ Qatar bureau reported two waves of Iranian attacks within two hours. National emergency air raid alerts rang out in Qatar at 05:36 local time and again at 07:13. While Qatar’s Ministry of Interior announced that the nation intercepted the incoming ballistic missiles, falling debris injured three people, including one child. Qatar’s government “strongly” condemned the renewed aggressions, stating they represent a “dangerous escalation” that will undermine diplomacy.

For more on this story, see Iran Launches Missile and Drone Strikes on Qatar, UAE, Bahrain and Kuwait.

Elsewhere, the UAE reported that its air defense system engaged with incoming missiles and drones, later clarifying that the “missile threats” were intercepted outside its borders. In Bahrain, home to the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet, missile alerts sounded three times on Sunday. Kuwait’s military reported it was intercepting incoming fire, while the Oman News Agency stated that drones targeted several sites in the sultanate’s Musandam governorate, an exclave jutting into the Strait of Hormuz. Authorities in Jordan confirmed that three Iranian missiles fell within their territory, though they reported no casualties.

Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf Declares the Strait of Hormuz Closed

The Dispute Over the Strait of Hormuz

The Strait of Hormuz remains the central flashpoint. Following the attack on the Cyprus-flagged container ship on Saturday, the IRGC announced that the waterway was closed until further notice, insisting that no vessels would be allowed to transit and that Iran alone must control navigation. Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the speaker of Iran’s parliament and a main negotiator, proclaimed on X: “The era of one-sided deals is OVER,” adding, we told you: keep your word or pay the price. Reality is knocking.

Tehran’s claims of sovereignty over the bottleneck, through which approximately one-fifth of global energy exports used to pass before the war, have pushed oil and gas prices to a multiyear high. Retired Gen. Frank McKenzie, former commander of U.S. Central Command, stated on “Face the Nation” that U.S. forces “certainly have the capability to control the Strait of Hormuz if the president chooses to follow that course of action.” Regarding the potential for the U.S. Navy to place ships in the narrow waterway, McKenzie said, “The U.S. Navy doesn’t love to do that, but they’re very good at it.”

President Trump Threatens Iran With 1000 Locked and Loaded Missiles

Escalating Rhetoric and Military Posture

The exchange of fire occurs as Iran and the U.S. approach the midway point of the 60-day period of their interim deal. President Trump told NBC on Sunday: “we bombed the hell out of them last night,” just days after he had threatened to “decimate and destroy” Iran if the regime made an attempt on his life, adding that “1000 Missiles are Locked and Loaded and aimed at the Islamic Republic of Iran.”

This follows our earlier report, US Strikes 140 Iranian Sites as Tehran Retaliates Against Gulf Nations.

Governor of Qeshm Island Reports Projectiles Fired at Military Targets

Despite the combat, an Iranian delegation traveled to Oman on Saturday to continue negotiations via mediators. Tehran signaled on Sunday that it has rebuilt some of its ballistic missile and drone capabilities. Meanwhile, IRNA, Iran’s state-run news agency, reported that the governor of Qeshm island—home to approximately 150,000 people—claimed under a dozen projectiles had been fired at military targets there with no casualties. Explosions were also reported by IRNA in the coastal city of Bandar Abbas and the inland city of Hajiabad.

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