World
U.S., Iran trade attacks amid rising tensions
Iran's state-run Press TV reported renewed explosions on its Qeshm island, with several blasts heard on Kharg island.
Demonstrators holding placards take part in a May Day rally in Los Angeles, California, the United States, on May 1, 2026. Tens of thousands of people took to the streets across the United States on Friday to join May Day (International Workers' Day) rallies against the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran and defend labor and immigrant rights. (Photo by Xinhua)
By: Xinhua News Agency, Journalist @New Vision
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The United States has launched strikes against 80 Iranian targets, and in response, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) attacked 85 U.S. military sites in Bahrain, Kuwait, in a new round of escalation of regional tensions.
The United States completed a new round of strikes against Iran, hitting over 80 targets, the U.S. Central Command said Tuesday evening.
Iran's state-run Press TV reported renewed explosions on its Qeshm island, with several blasts heard on Kharg island.
"A member of the Guards, Mohammad Reza Khazini, was hit by shrapnel and died a martyr while confronting enemy drones" in Mahshahr, a port city not far from the Iraqi border, IRNA reported, citing a statement from the IRGC.
Iran's top joint military command said that its armed forces will give a "crushing response" to U.S. attacks and will not allow U.S. interference in the management of the Strait of Hormuz.
Press TV reported on Wednesday that heavy explosions rocked Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait. Moreover, multiple explosions were heard in Bahrain on Wednesday.
The IRGC said its forces hit U.S. military targets in Bahrain and Kuwait early Wednesday in retaliation for strikes earlier in the day by the U.S. Army.
The IRGC said that its forces also shot down an MQ-9 Reaper drone "that sought to interfere in the operation."
It said that the "terrorist" U.S. strikes were in flagrant violation of the ceasefire and a recently signed peace memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Iran and the United States, saying the U.S. attacks were aimed at overshadowing the "historic" funeral ceremonies for Iran's late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who was killed in a U.S. and Israeli strike in Tehran in late February.
Iranian Parliament Speaker and top negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said Wednesday that violations of "Iranian adjustments" in the Strait of Hormuz, continued threats of further strikes, the reinstatement of oil sanctions, attacks on southern Iran, and continued Israeli aggression on Lebanon constitute major MoU violations by the United States.
Press TV reported on Wednesday that heavy explosions rocked Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait. Moreover, multiple explosions were heard in Bahrain on Wednesday.
The IRGC said its forces hit U.S. military targets in Bahrain and Kuwait early Wednesday in retaliation for strikes earlier in the day by the U.S. Army.
The IRGC said that its forces also shot down an MQ-9 Reaper drone "that sought to interfere in the operation."
It said that the "terrorist" U.S. strikes were in flagrant violation of the ceasefire and a recently signed peace memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Iran and the United States, saying the U.S. attacks were aimed at overshadowing the "historic" funeral ceremonies for Iran's late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who was killed in a U.S. and Israeli strike in Tehran in late February.
Iranian Parliament Speaker and top negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said Wednesday that violations of "Iranian adjustments" in the Strait of Hormuz, continued threats of further strikes, the reinstatement of oil sanctions, attacks on southern Iran, and continued Israeli aggression on Lebanon constitute major MoU violations by the United States.
"The era of bullying and extortion is over. It leads nowhere," he wrote in a post on X.
The U.S. Central Command said earlier that U.S. forces launched strikes against Iran after three commercial ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz were attacked.
It added that U.S. forces struck "Iranian air defense systems, command and control networks, coastal radar sites, anti-ship missile capabilities, and more than 60 small boats" belonging to the IRGC in and near the Strait to "degrade Iran's ability to continue attacking international commerce flowing through the international trade corridor."
The attack on the three oil tankers also triggered the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control to revoke a license on Tuesday that had authorized the sale of Iranian-origin oil until Aug. 21.
Iran tightened its grip on the Strait of Hormuz beginning Feb. 28, when it barred safe passage of vessels belonging to or affiliated with Israel and the United States following joint strikes on Iranian territory.
On June 18, Iran and the United States signed the MoU on ending the war in the region on all fronts, including Lebanon. The two countries are scheduled to hold negotiations within a 60-day period to reach a final agreement.
The U.S. Central Command said earlier that U.S. forces launched strikes against Iran after three commercial ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz were attacked.
It added that U.S. forces struck "Iranian air defense systems, command and control networks, coastal radar sites, anti-ship missile capabilities, and more than 60 small boats" belonging to the IRGC in and near the Strait to "degrade Iran's ability to continue attacking international commerce flowing through the international trade corridor."
The attack on the three oil tankers also triggered the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control to revoke a license on Tuesday that had authorized the sale of Iranian-origin oil until Aug. 21.
Iran tightened its grip on the Strait of Hormuz beginning Feb. 28, when it barred safe passage of vessels belonging to or affiliated with Israel and the United States following joint strikes on Iranian territory.
On June 18, Iran and the United States signed the MoU on ending the war in the region on all fronts, including Lebanon. The two countries are scheduled to hold negotiations within a 60-day period to reach a final agreement.