By Kay Johnson, Neha Mustafi and Dharmesh Prajapati
What you need to know
- The US military carried out a fourth night of strikes against Iran after President Donald Trump reinstated its blockade of Iranian shipping
- Bahrain and Kuwait came under attack again on Wednesday after Iran vowed to continue retaliation on US military assets, leaving an interim ceasefire in tatters
- Trump threatened again to hit Iranian power plants and bridges if Tehran does not return to negotiations to end the war started by US and Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28
- Trump said a 20% fee for ships to pass through the Strait of Hormuz that he had proposed can be replaced by trade and investment deals with the Gulf states
Breaking
Iran says it has struck US assets in Bahrain and Kuwait
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps said it targeted what it described as command-and-control, logistics, fuel and military equipment facilities belonging to the U.S. Fifth Fleet in Bahrain.
This was in response to U.S. military strikes and efforts to control the Strait of Hormuz, it said.
They also “set fire to and destroyed” a U.S. military logistics and support center in Kuwait’s Mina Abdullah.
There was no immediate response from the U.S. Central Command to the Iranian statement.
Earlier on Wednesday, Bahrain sounded warning sirens and the Kuwaiti army said its air defenses were confronting Iranian “hostile” drone attacks.
‘We’re going to knock out all their power plants’
Trump at the White House, July 14, 2026. REUTERS/Evan Vucci
Trump resumed an earlier threat to hit Iranian infrastructure if Tehran does not negotiate.
“I’ll save the energy targets for last, but ultimately we’ll hit energy targets,” Trump said in an interview with Fox News on Tuesday night.
“But we’re going to hit them very hard tonight, we’re gonna hit them hard tomorrow night … And then next week it gets really bad for them because next week comes the power plants, next week comes the bridges,” he said.
He continued: “We’re going to knock out all their power plants. We’re gonna knock out their bridges unless they get to the table and negotiate.”
The 1949 Geneva Conventions on humanitarian conduct in war prohibit attacks on sites considered essential for civilians.
Trump said in the interview that U.S. negotiators had been in touch with their Iranian counterparts to tell them “you better make a deal”.
US says Iran’s attacks cost innocent lives
Cooper, May 14, 2026. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
Earlier, the commander of U.S. Central Command said Iran’s attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz and on Gulf countries cost innocent lives and must be stopped.
“Over the past seven days, Iran has intentionally targeted civilians across the region by attacking seven commercial ships resulting in nearly a dozen crew members killed, missing, or injured,” he said in a statement.
“Iranian forces have also launched dozens of missiles and drones toward neighboring Gulf countries. U.S. forces are holding Iran accountable for unwarranted aggression that continues to endanger innocent lives,” it added
US says it has concluded seven hours of military strikes
The U.S. Central Command now says it has completed its latest wave of strikes on Iran, which ended about 30 minutes ago at 10 p.m. in Washington on Tuesday (0200 GMT Wednesday).
U.S. fighter aircraft, drones and naval vessels launched precision munitions against “dozens” of military targets near the Strait of Hormuz and Iranian coastal areas, CENTCOM’s statement on X said. It did not name specific targets or damage.
The statement reiterated that the strikes were meant to further degrade “Iran’s ability to threaten commercial shipping and civilian crews.”
Iran says Hormuz will be shut until ‘end of America’s evils’
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said on Wednesday that the Strait of Hormuz will remain closed until the “end of America’s evils.”
It declared the waterway once again closed on Saturday.
Passage through the strait was not currently possible due to “recent illegal movements of the United States military forces in the region”, Tehran’s recently created Persian Gulf Strait Authority said. Iran created the authority to manage traffic through the strait, which Tehran insists it should control.
Permits would be issued “as soon as stability and calm are restored,” the authority added.
Breaking
Iran says it again targeted Jordan’s Azraq base
The Iranian army has said it targeted U.S. military facilities at Jordan’s Azraq air base for a second time, Iranian state media is reporting.
The Jordanian base hosts U.S. military personnel and operations.
There was no immediate comment from the Pentagon and the U.S. Central Command, nor from Jordan.
Kuwait intercepts Iranian drones and sirens sound in Bahrain
Bahrain’s interior ministry said a warning siren had been sounded early on Wednesday.
Less than half an hour later, the Kuwaiti army said its air defenses were confronting Iranian “hostile” drone attacks.
The Kuwaiti state news agency earlier said that a blaze was brought under control at one of the sites targeted by Iranian attacks. No injuries were reported at the time.
US enforcing blockade with 20 warships and many aircraft
The U.S. resumed its naval blockade against vessels transiting to and from Iranian ports and coastal areas on Tuesday at 4 p.m. Washington (2000 GMT), according to the U.S. military.
“There are currently more than 20 U.S. Navy warships and hundreds of military aircraft operating across the Middle East. American forces remain vigilant, lethal, and ready,” CENTCOM said in a post on X on Tuesday afternoon.
Washington began blocking shipping traffic in and out of Iran’s ports in April and ended it in June following an interim U.S.-Iranian agreement.
Trump announced a resumption of the blockade earlier in the week.
Trump resumes Iran blockade as US launches more attacks
A still from a handout video released July 14, 2026, said to show a drone being launched by Iran. IRIB/Handout via REUTERS
U.S. President Donald Trump has reimposed a naval blockade โof all Iranian ports and carried out a fourth night of military strikes on Iran.
Trump renewed threats to hit Iranian power plants and bridges next week unless Tehran resumes negotiations, in the latest U.S. escalation of the conflict.
The U.S. military launched new strikes on Iran “to continue degrading Iranian capabilities used to attack commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz,” the U.S. military said.
Tehran says it has again closed the strait after hostilities between Iran and the U.S. reignited last week, leaving in tatters an already fragile truce reached in June after several months of fighting.
The war has killed thousands since it began with U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28.
Iran’s โarmy said early on Wednesday that it had launched drone attacks against U.S. positions at Jordan’s Azraq base. There was no immediate comment from the Pentagon.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary โ Guard Corps also said they targeted weapons and storage facilities in Bahrain and Kuwait. Reuters could not immediately verify the reports.
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