The US launched a second consecutive night of strikes on Iran on June 10, targeting military surveillance and air defence systems. Iran retaliated with ballistic missiles and drones against US bases in Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan.
The Middle East edged closer to full-scale war on Wednesday night as the United States launched a second consecutive round of airstrikes against Iran, and Tehran responded by firing ballistic missiles and drones at American military bases in Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan. It was the third time this week that direct exchanges of fire between Washington and Tehran had threatened to shatter a fragile ceasefire that has been in place since April.
The US military said it had launched strikes against multiple targets in Iran for the second day in a row after President Donald Trump accused the country of dragging out talks on an interim peace deal. The attacks came after a day in which Trump had made his intentions unmistakable. US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, during a security cabinet meeting with Trump, stated that the US was going to hit Iran hard on Wednesday, adding that US CENTCOM would be “busy.”
What the US Struck and Why
US Central Command stated that it targeted Iranian military surveillance capabilities, communications systems, and air defence sites across Iran with precision munitions. The sites targeted, according to the US military, posed a threat to US forces in the region and commercial ships attempting to transit the Strait of Hormuz.
According to Iranian state media reports, after the strikes were announced, explosions were heard in western Tehran and the southern Iranian cities of Sirik and Minab. CENTCOM framed the operation in explicitly defensive terms, stating that the strikes were in response to what it called Iran’s unwarranted and continued aggression, and that US forces remain vigilant, lethal, and ready.
The trigger for the latest escalation was the downing of a US Apache helicopter near the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday. Trump warned that the US would hit Iran very hard again, having said earlier that Tehran had taken too long to negotiate a deal and would have to pay the price.
Iran Fires Back: Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan Targeted
Tehran did not absorb the strikes without responding. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they had carried out missile and drone attacks on US military bases in Jordan, Kuwait and Bahrain on Wednesday in retaliation for American strikes on Iranian targets around the Strait of Hormuz.
The IRGC said it launched 12 ballistic missiles on Thursday morning, targeting locations hosting American F-35, F-15, and F-16 fighter aircraft. The Revolutionary Guards separately claimed to have targeted 18 significant sites in total during the course of the overnight exchanges.
Authorities in Bahrain said their defence forces intercepted multiple incoming missiles and drones, accusing Iran of targeting civilian areas in the kingdom. The attacks were aimed at facilities connected to the US Fifth Fleet, one of Washington’s most important naval commands in the Middle East. Jordanian officials reported that five missiles launched from Iran were shot down before reaching their intended target.
Gulf states activated air defences as the strikes unfolded, raising fears that the conflict could spill into a broader regional war.
Iran also claimed that two ships had been struck in the Strait of Hormuz, though CENTCOM denied that the Strait of Hormuz had been closed, asserting that commercial ships were continuing to transit in and out of the Strait.
A Ceasefire That Is Barely Holding
To understand why Wednesday’s strikes matter so much, it helps to understand the fragile diplomatic framework they are threatening to destroy.
The United States and Iran agreed to a conditional two-month ceasefire in April 2026, following the devastating opening phase of the conflict that began on February 28 when the US and Israel launched coordinated strikes on Iranian military and nuclear sites. That operation, codenamed Epic Fury, took out Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and triggered hundreds of retaliatory missiles and thousands of drones from Iran across the Middle East, leaving enormous damage and thousands of people dead in Iran, Lebanon, Israel, and the Gulf Arab states.
The ceasefire that followed was always precarious. A central condition was that Iran would allow commercial shipping to resume through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway between Iran and Oman through which roughly 20% of global energy supply flowed before the conflict. Tehran repeatedly failed to honour that commitment. Trump said in April that under the conditional ceasefire, Iran promised to open the Strait of Hormuz, and they knowingly failed to do so.
The new US assault across multiple Iranian cities came as efforts to negotiate an end to the war again appeared stuck, with Iran insisting it would maintain its chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz, which has disrupted global energy supplies and sent oil prices higher.
The Strait of Hormuz: The Core of the Crisis
The Strait of Hormuz is the single most important piece of geography in this conflict. It is a narrow channel through which an enormous share of the world’s oil and gas passes, and Iran’s decision to close or restrict it has sent shockwaves through global energy markets since the war began.
Oil prices leapt more than 7% higher after Iran’s state media reported that Tehran would fully block the Strait and activate other fronts including the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, in order to punish what it described as supporters of the Zionist regime.
The reopening of the strait is a major issue in the Pakistan-mediated talks that have been ongoing. The US Secretary of State has said any Iranian tolling system in the strait would make a diplomatic deal unfeasible.
An analyst at the International Capital Markets Association said oil prices would likely remain between $90 and $100 at least for the next couple of months until there is greater clarity on any lasting peace agreement, warning of inevitable investor skepticism towards the negotiations. He also highlighted significant damage to infrastructure, refineries and pipelines across the Gulf as a result of the war, coupled with ongoing security challenges for tanker traffic.
Regional Fallout: Neighbours Caught in the Crossfire
The strikes on Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan are not just a military issue. They are a political and humanitarian one for the countries that host American forces but are not parties to the conflict.
Kuwait and Bahrain condemned the Iranian missile and drone strikes, calling them a violation of their sovereignty and a threat to regional security. Egypt, Jordan and Qatar also issued condemnations.
Iran has insisted that any deal to end the war must also include an end to fighting between its ally Hezbollah and Israel. Israel has instead intensified its military campaign against the Lebanon-based militant group. That linkage between the Iran-US negotiations and the Israel-Lebanon front is one of the biggest obstacles to any comprehensive deal.
UN Secretary General António Guterres said the ceasefire in the Middle East is more like a lesser-fire, warning that the week’s attacks had brought wider escalation and further deterioration. He urged all parties to work towards a diplomatic settlement, adding that there should be no more excuses.
Where Does This Leave the Peace Talks?
The diplomatic situation is extremely delicate. Pakistan has been acting as a key mediator between Washington and Tehran, and talks have continued even as the bombs fall. Trump has suggested at various points this week that a deal could be reached within days, while simultaneously authorising strikes that bring both sides closer to the brink.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned that foreign military forces operating near Iran would remain vulnerable, declaring that Iranian forces would not leave any attack unanswered.
Secretary of Defense Hegseth framed the strikes as part of the ongoing negotiations for a permanent ceasefire, describing them as negotiating with force. It is an approach that carries enormous risk. Each exchange of fire gives hardliners on both sides more reason to abandon talks entirely.
What the next 48 hours bring will be decisive. If the two sides can find a way back to the negotiating table, a deal that ends the Strait of Hormuz blockade and brings sustained calm to the region is still possible. If the strikes and retaliations continue to escalate, the shaky ceasefire framework that has prevented an even worse catastrophe since April may not survive the week.
Europeans24 is following this story as it develops. For the latest on the Iran-US conflict and its impact on European energy prices, diplomacy, and security, follow our live coverage.
