Iran's Revolutionary Guards Say They Hit U.S. Bases

 in West Asia, Threaten to Expand Strikes

Report By Global Instruments

Tehran/Washington — July 9, 2026

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it struck American military installations in Kuwait and Bahrain this week, opening a dangerous new chapter in the fragile ceasefire between

Washington and Tehran and raising fears that the wider war, which began in late February, could reignite in full force.

Strikes and Counterstrikes

The exchange began after U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) accused Iranian forces of attacking three commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz — including a Saudi-flagged crude oil tanker and a liquefied natural gas carrier that caught fire off the coast of Oman. <cite index="9-1">CENTCOM said it had begun launching a series of powerful strikes against Iran to impose heavy costs for the shipping attacks.</cite> By Tuesday evening, the command confirmed it had <cite index="10-1">struck over 80 targets across Iran, including air defense systems, command and control networks, coastal radar sites, and anti-ship missile capabilities, along with more than 60 IRGC small boats near the strait.</cite>

Tehran responded within hours. <cite index="6-1">The IRGC said it had targeted 85 U.S. military sites in Bahrain and Kuwait, and Iran's army said a drone attack hit U.S. forces at the Sheikh Isa airbase in Bahrain.</cite> A CNN report specified that the joint drone-and-missile operation targeted Camp Arifjan and Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait, as well as Shaikh Isa Air Base and Juffair in Bahrain — <cite index="1-1">Juffair being home to the Naval Support Activity that hosts the U.S. Fifth Fleet.</cite> Kuwait's armed forces said they had intercepted two ballistic missiles and 13 hostile drones, with no reported damage or casualties, according to a Defense Ministry spokesperson.

The fighting escalated further on Wednesday night into Thursday, when U.S. forces struck additional targets, including a railway bridge in Aqqala, roughly 900 miles from the Strait of Hormuz, and port facilities in Chabahar, in southern Iran. Iran's Revolutionary Guard said one of its naval personnel was killed in Bandar Mahshahr after being struck by shrapnel while confronting drones.

Trump Declares Ceasefire "Over"

The renewed violence has effectively unraveled the memorandum of understanding that Washington and Tehran signed on June 17, which had extended an earlier April ceasefire and set a roughly 60-day window for talks aimed at formally ending the war. Speaking from the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, President Donald Trump said he considered the truce finished and that further negotiation would be pointless, adding that he no longer wanted to deal with Iranian officials. He warned that U.S. retaliation would intensify if Iran struck shipping again, and did not rule out targeting Iranian civilian infrastructure such as power and desalination plants — a move that international law experts note could constitute a war crime.

Iran, for its part, showed no sign of backing down. Parliamentary Speaker and lead negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf warned on social media that Washington would face consequences for any further strikes, insisting that the Strait of Hormuz — through which roughly a fifth of the world's traded oil and gas passes — would remain open only under terms set by Tehran. Iran's Foreign Ministry has placed responsibility for the collapse of the agreement on Washington, pointing to the U.S. Treasury's move to revoke a temporary waiver on Iranian oil sanctions less than three weeks after the memorandum was signed.

Wider Fallout

The crisis has unsettled global markets and security partners alike. Brent crude jumped more than 6% amid the uncertainty, and the International Maritime Organization's secretary-general condemned the attacks on shipping as reckless, warning that merchant sailors were being placed in grave danger. NATO, meeting in Ankara as the strikes unfolded, backed Washington's response, with Secretary General Mark Rutte calling the U.S. strikes absolutely necessary and reaffirming that Iran must never acquire nuclear weapons.

The renewed hostilities come as Iran holds a multi-day state funeral for Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in February, adding a volatile political backdrop to the military escalation. President Masoud Pezeshkian cut short his participation in funeral events in Iraq to return to Tehran following the strikes.

With both sides trading threats of further escalation and the diplomatic track effectively stalled, regional governments and international shipping operators are bracing for the possibility of a broader confrontation across the Gulf, even as officials on both sides say they have not entirely closed the door to renewed talks before the memorandum's mid-August deadline.

This report is based on current news coverage as events continue to develop; details may change as more information emerges.