U.S. and Iranian forces exchanged heavy missile and drone attacks over the weekend and into Monday, with Tehran striking U.S. facilities across the Gulf and saying it had again closed the Strait of Hormuz, sending oil prices higher.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said on Monday they had targeted U.S. military facilities in Bahrain and Kuwait, destroyed radar systems in Oman, and hit fuel tanks and ammunition depots at Prince Hassan Air Base in Jordan in response to U.S. strikes.
The U.S. military said it had struck Iranian air defence systems, coastal radar sites, missile and drone capabilities and small boats on Sunday, using aircraft, naval vessels and drones.
The exchanges were an escalation in the pace and geographic scope of attacks over the past week, casting doubt on an interim U.S.-Iranian agreement signed last month to reopen the strait and end the war after a further 60 days of negotiations.
In a brief phone interview with Reuters on Sunday, U.S. President Donald Trump referred to the weekend’s strikes on Iran. “We’re beating them up,” he said.
Trump has said he considers the ceasefire over, while leaving the door open to further talks.
Iran’s top negotiator, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, struck a similarly defiant tone, posting on X on Sunday: “The era of one-sided deals is OVER. We told you: keep your word or pay the price. Reality is knocking.”
The war launched by the United States and Israel against Iran on February 28 has destabilised the Gulf, and spread across the region, with Iran attacking U.S. bases in multiple countries. Thousands of people have been killed, mainly in Iran and Lebanon.
Tehran’s effective blockade of the Strait of Hormuz has driven energy prices higher and fuelled inflation concerns worldwide.