The United States concluded on Sunday a third round of strikes against Iran, which it said aimed to 'hold it accountable for attacking another commercial vessel in the Strait of Hormuz.'

Washington stated that over three nights of strikes this week, it had targeted more than 300 military sites 'aimed at undermining Tehran's ability to attack civilian sailors and commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz.' The targets included missile and drone sites, naval capabilities, ammunition depots, and communication networks.

Thu, 09 2026

It noted that since the beginning of May, the U.S. military has helped facilitate the safe passage of more than 800 commercial vessels and the transport of 400 million barrels of crude oil through the Strait of Hormuz.

Central Command had announced earlier Sunday the start of a third round of strikes against Iranian targets, in response to an attack it said Iran's Revolutionary Guard forces had carried out on a container ship flying the flag of Cyprus while it was transiting the Strait of Hormuz.

It added that Revolutionary Guard forces had 'flagrantly' attacked the container ship GFS Galaxy during its transit of the strait, resulting in the loss of one of its civilian crew members, a fire on board, and severe damage to the engine room, leaving it unable to continue its voyage.

Wed, 08 2026

Commenting on the Central Command statement, U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said on platform 'X': 'Iran made a bad choice, and now it is paying the price.'

Iran's Revolutionary Guard had announced on Sunday morning the closure of the Strait of Hormuz to navigation until further notice, after saying it had stopped a ship by firing warning shots at it for attempting to transit via an 'unauthorized route.'

The Tasnim news agency quoted the Revolutionary Guard as saying that several ships attempted to transit via an unauthorized route and did not respond to warnings and instructions demanding they correct their course and adhere to the designated route. It added that one of the ships stopped its systems, endangering maritime security, noting that it was subjected to warning fire that resulted in it being hit and halted.

Gulf countries repel Iranian attacks

The Gulf region witnessed a new military escalation on Sunday after Iran renewed its attacks on Bahrain, Qatar, the UAE, and Kuwait, while the four countries announced the activation of their defensive systems to deal with missiles and drones, amid tightened security measures and warnings to residents.

Qatar's Ministry of Defense announced that the armed forces had repelled a missile attack targeting the country, affirming the readiness of air defense systems to deal with any threats. The Qatari Interior Ministry also confirmed that the security threat level remains high, calling on citizens and residents to stay home and not go out unless necessary, and to comply with official instructions until further notice.

This coincided with the sound of explosions heard in the capital Doha, while AFP correspondents reported observing aerial interceptions in the city's skies, as authorities continued to send security alerts to mobile phones.

Thu, 02 2026

In the UAE, the Ministry of Defense announced that it is dealing with missile and drone attacks coming from Iran, explaining that the sounds heard in various parts of the country were caused by interception operations carried out by air defense systems against ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and drones.

In Bahrain, Bahrain TV confirmed that air defense systems intercepted and destroyed Iranian air attacks, before authorities later issued an 'all clear' alert and ended the state of alert after completing interception operations.

In a new development, the attacks expanded to include Kuwait, where the army announced that it had repelled hostile targets within its airspace, in the first official announcement of interception operations conducted by the Kuwaiti armed forces since the start of the latest wave of escalation, though no further details have yet been released regarding the nature of the targets or the results of the interception operations.