Overview
- U.S. forces said they carried out “self-defence” strikes on a military ground control site on Qeshm Island, and Iran launched missiles and drones that damaged Kuwait International Airport and killed at least one person on Wednesday.
- Kuwait and Bahrain reported their air defences intercepted multiple missiles and drones, while CENTCOM said U.S. forces shot at a tanker heading to Iran as part of enforcement of a naval blockade.
- The Strait of Hormuz remains effectively constrained to commercial traffic, increasing shipping costs and pushing oil prices higher as global energy flows are choked.
- Washington says talks with Tehran are continuing, but Iranian state-linked outlets and negotiators say mediated contacts have paused over Israeli operations in southern Lebanon.
- Israel’s ongoing strikes in Lebanon and Hezbollah counterattacks are tied directly to Tehran’s willingness to negotiate, and the renewed Gulf strikes risk collapsing the fragile ceasefire and deepening humanitarian and economic harm.