Times Of India | 19 July 2026, 16:04:15 IST
The US-Iran conflict is rapidly expanding beyond the battlefield, turning the Gulf into a new front in the escalating confrontation. As Washington intensifies its air strikes against Iranian military and Revolutionary Guard targets, Tehran has responded with missile and drone attacks on US bases and America’s allies across the region. Kuwait emerged as one of the most affected countries, as it reported Iranian attacks and activated air defense systems after Tehran announced attacks on US military facilities. Critical infrastructure, including power and desalination plants, has also been attacked, raising concerns about essential services and supply chains. The crisis was exacerbated by the collapse of the temporary ceasefire agreement, the blockade imposed by the United States on Iranian ports, and the escalating struggle for control of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital global energy corridor. With threats extending to Gulf airports and ports, and Iran warning of launching a broader attack if American attacks continue, the conflict threatens to ignite a much broader regional war.
Araqchi says the Supreme Leader has the final say on war or ceasefire while Iran considers the next step
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said that the Supreme Leader has the final authority to decide whether Iran will go to war or agree to a ceasefire, as Tehran considers its options amid escalating US military pressure.
“The Supreme National Security Council is responsible for assessing the situation regarding war or ceasefire, but the final decision rests with the Supreme Leader,” Araqchi said in an interview with a YouTube channel.
Araqchi, who faced criticism from rival political factions after the temporary understanding with the United States, said Iran agreed to resume negotiations after Washington again demanded that it not enrich uranium completely and threatened to take military action.
He added: “The decision was taken to resume negotiations to make clear that Iran has exhausted diplomatic options.”
In the same interview, Araqchi said that he had never met Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei personally. “Only a few people have met him,” he added.
Bahrain says its air defenses intercepted “treacherous” Iranian missiles and drone attacks
The Bahraini military said its air defense systems intercepted and destroyed several missile and drone attacks launched from Iran on Sunday, Al Jazeera reported.
The Bahraini Defense Force said the attacks were thwarted amid “high combat readiness” and warned residents not to approach unknown or suspicious objects that may have fallen under the rubble. Bahrain also accused Iran of deliberately targeting civilians and private property, and described the use of missiles and drones in such attacks as a “flagrant violation of international humanitarian law,” according to the report.
The Iranian Revolutionary Guard announced that it shot down an American MQ-9 drone near the Iraqi border
The Iranian Revolutionary Guard intercepted and destroyed a US MQ-9 drone over Ahvaz in the country’s southwestern Khuzestan province, state-run Press TV reported.
The city is located near Iran’s border with Iraq. The MQ-9 Reaper is a large, remotely piloted unmanned aerial vehicle used primarily for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions, as well as air strikes, according to the US Air Force.
The reported incident comes amid escalating tensions between the United States and Iran and escalating military operations across the region.
Iran has executed two men convicted of killing four police officers during the 2026 protests
Iran executed two men convicted of killing four police officers during protests earlier this year, the judiciary’s Mizan news agency reported. The executions come amid rising tensions in Iran following protests and the ongoing conflict with the United States and Israel. Mizan did not immediately provide further details about the men’s identities or the circumstances of their conviction.
Iran says its ships were involved in an accident while crossing the Strait of Hormuz, while two other ships left the route
Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency, citing the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, reported that two ships trying to cross the southern route of the Strait of Hormuz had an “accident,” while two other ships abandoned their attempt to pass through the route. This development comes amid escalating tensions over the strategic waterway, as Iran continues to warn ships against using routes it considers unsafe.
US Embassy: Evacuation of the airport and port in the Jordanian city of Aqaba due to a “specific and credible threat”
The US Embassy in Jordan announced on Sunday the evacuation of the international airport and seaport in Aqaba in southern Jordan due to a “specific and credible threat.”
“We strongly advise all Americans to refrain from traveling to the airport or port. Continue to follow all security directives of the Jordanian authorities,” the embassy said on the X website, without providing further details.
The Jordanian authorities have not yet issued a statement on this matter. The Jordanian Minister of Information did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard says two ships were involved in an “accident” after defying Hormuz warnings
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said two ships were involved in an accident after trying to cross the Strait of Hormuz via what it described as an unsafe route, Reuters reported, citing the semi-official Tasnim news agency.
The Revolutionary Guard said that two other ships left the route after the four ships ignored Iranian warnings and acted with American support. This development comes amid escalating tensions over the strategic waterway, which is a vital route for global oil and gas shipments, as the US-Iranian conflict continues to escalate.
Drone attack in Iraq, wounding 8 members of the Iranian Kurdish opposition
At least eight members of the exiled Kurdistan Freedom Party were wounded in a drone attack on the group’s camp in northwestern Iraq, an official said, the latest strike targeting Iranian Kurdish opposition groups based in the region. A member of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, Adeeb Khaledian, said that Iranian forces carried out the attack at approximately two o’clock in the morning local time on a camp in the Darashkran area of Erbil.
The attack came two days after nine members of the Komala Party, another Iranian Kurdish opposition group, were killed in drone and missile attacks blamed on Iran. Several Iranian Kurdish groups have long opposed Tehran from their bases in northern Iraq and along the Iraq-Iran border, while maintaining close ties with Iraqi Kurdish groups.
The attacks come amid heightened regional tensions following US and Israeli strikes against Iran in February. News reports had previously indicated that US President Donald Trump was holding discussions with Iranian and Iraqi Kurdish groups, with Washington reportedly hoping they could help fuel a popular uprising against Tehran.
The Kuwaiti army says it is responding to Iranian missile and drone attacks amid escalating conflict in the Gulf
The Kuwaiti military said it was responding to Iranian missile and drone attacks after Tehran claimed it had launched large-scale suicide drone attacks against two US military facilities in the country.
Iran said it targeted a US ammunition depot at Camp Al-Udayri and Patriot and air surveillance radar systems at Ali Al-Salem Air Base in response to US strikes on Iranian territory.
Kuwait has repeatedly been drawn into the widening conflict, with Iranian attacks also reportedly hitting critical infrastructure, including energy and desalination facilities, as hostilities between the US and Iran escalate across the region.
The official news agency said that sirens sounded in Kuwait after Iranian strikes on key infrastructure
You mentioned WK The Kuwaiti News Agency reported on the X website that sirens sounded throughout Kuwait after a new wave of Iranian missile and drone attacks.
The Kuwaiti army had previously said that it was responding to Iranian strikes that reportedly hit an oil facility, a power plant, and a water desalination facility.
The latest development comes amid a sharp escalation in hostilities between Iran and the United States, with Tehran expanding its retaliatory attacks across the Gulf.
Iran says it launched drone strikes on two American military bases in Kuwait
The Iranian military said it launched drone attacks on two US military facilities in Kuwait in response to US strikes on Iranian territory, marking a sharp escalation in regional hostilities.
In a statement broadcast by Iranian state media, the Islamic Republic’s Armed Forces said they carried out “large-scale attacks with suicide drones” targeting a US ammunition depot at Camp Al-Adiri and Patriot and air surveillance radar systems at Ali Al-Salem Air Base.
Kuwait says Iran launched missile and drone attacks as the exchange of fire intensified in the Gulf
Kuwait said that Iran launched missile and drone strikes against the country, prompting its air defenses to activate in response to what the army described as “sinful Iranian aggression.”
The attacks came as the United States and Iran exchanged strikes for more than a week, and a temporary ceasefire agreement collapsed. Kuwait was among the Gulf states hardest hit by the conflict, with attacks hitting US bases and vital infrastructure including the airport, a water desalination plant and energy facilities.
US strikes Iran’s Revolutionary Guard after Jordan attack as tensions rise in the Strait of Hormuz
The US military launched new airstrikes on Iran’s Revolutionary Guard on Sunday in response to an attack in Jordan that left two American soldiers dead, one soldier missing, and four others injured.
US Central Command said the strikes targeted Iran’s coastal surveillance and air defense facilities, naval capabilities, and missile and drone storage sites, marking the first time in the campaign that Washington has specifically said it targeted the Revolutionary Guard.
The latest strikes came as the conflict over the Strait of Hormuz widened, with Iran attacking Gulf states allied with the United States and the United States intensifying its bombing campaign across Iran.
The US-Iranian conflict has entered a dangerous new phase, with the expanding military confrontation extending across the Gulf and drawing in America’s allies and military installations. New US airstrikes targeted Iran’s military infrastructure, including coastal surveillance and air defense facilities, naval capabilities, missile and drone storage sites, and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Washington says the campaign aims to weaken Iran’s ability to threaten commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and avenge the killing of American soldiers in Jordan. In turn, Iran has expanded its retaliatory operations across the region, launching missile and drone attacks against US-linked targets and critical infrastructure in Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan. Tehran also claimed responsibility for large-scale suicide drone attacks on US military facilities at Camp Al-Adiri and Ali Al-Salem Air Base in Kuwait. Kuwait says its air defenses were activated in response to the Iranian attacks, while residents expressed fears of disruption to basic supplies and services after the strikes hit energy and water infrastructure. The escalation also sparked warnings from the UAE amid threats to major airports and ports. With the Strait of Hormuz at the center of the standoff, the conflict now threatens to destabilize the wider Gulf region and threaten vital global energy routes.
