Overview
- U.S. Central Command said its forces carried out a second consecutive night of precision “self‑defense” strikes that targeted Iranian military surveillance, communications systems and air‑defence sites after a U.S. Apache helicopter was downed, the operation taking place late Wednesday into Thursday.
- Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it launched missiles and drones at U.S. bases and allied sites in Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan and claimed to have hit 18 targets, while Gulf states reported air‑defence activity and Kuwait briefly closed airspace.
- Iran’s military command declared the Strait of Hormuz closed to shipping and warned vessels to stay away, a claim U.S. Central Command disputed by saying commercial traffic continued to transit the waterway.
- Iranian media and multiple reports said explosions and air‑defence activations were heard in Tehran and several southern cities and that two concrete water storage reservoirs were damaged, prompting concerns about civilian infrastructure and potential humanitarian impact.
- Markets reacted sharply as oil prices rose and U.S. stocks fell, mediators including Qatar and Pakistan continued back‑channel talks, and officials warned that the strikes are intended to pressure Tehran to accept a deal but risk collapsing the fragile ceasefire and widening the conflict.