Iran launched a fresh wave of drone and missile attacks targeting Bahrain and Kuwait on Sunday, hours after new U.S. airstrikes hit military sites inside the country, escalating tensions across the Gulf and casting fresh doubt over diplomatic efforts to end the conflict.
Tehran also warned it could completely suspend negotiations with Washington if U.S. military operations continue.
The latest exchanges come as both sides remain locked in a fragile diplomatic process aimed at ending the war and restoring stability in the region.
The Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most critical shipping lanes for oil and natural gas, remains at the center of the standoff.
A U.S. Navy-backed multinational maritime coalition announced Saturday that it would expand shipping routes near Oman to keep commercial traffic moving despite recent attacks.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi rejected any attempt to bypass Tehran’s role in managing security around the strategic waterway.
He insisted that any new arrangements outside Iran’s control would only increase tensions, delay the reopening of the strait, and further complicate regional security.
Although the Strait of Hormuz is generally regarded as an international waterway, Iran has repeatedly argued it should play the leading role in overseeing its operations. Iranian forces have attacked vessels near Oman’s waters twice in recent days.
Pakistan, which has been mediating between Tehran and Washington, said negotiations are expected to resume on Tuesday under the framework of the interim agreement reached earlier this month.
The Trump administration maintained that technical discussions remain on schedule.
Negotiators are expected to address several contentious issues, including security in the Strait of Hormuz, lifting U.S. sanctions and restrictions on Iranian ports, and the future of Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium.
Both sides have 60 days from the signing of their memorandum of understanding to finalize the details of the agreement.
However, renewed fighting involving Lebanon threatens to derail those efforts, as the agreement requires hostilities across the region to end before key political issues can be resolved.
Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard claimed responsibility for Sunday’s attacks on Bahrain and Kuwait.
Kuwait, home to a major U.S. military base, said its air defense systems intercepted Iranian drones and two missiles shortly after American strikes inside Iran. Authorities reported no casualties or damage.
Bahrain said an Iranian strike damaged a residential building near its international airport, though no one was killed. The country hosts the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet, but officials said the damaged building was not close to the naval headquarters.
Bahrain condemned the attacks, describing them as a deliberate and repeated pattern of aggression rather than an isolated incident.
Later Sunday, Qatar reported that one civilian was killed and another injured by shrapnel linked to military activity after a vessel failed to return on schedule. Officials did not provide further details.
The U.S. military said it targeted Iranian surveillance systems, communications infrastructure, air defense positions, drone storage facilities and naval mine-laying capabilities after an Iranian attack on a commercial tanker on Saturday.
The Panamanian-flagged vessel Kiku was transporting crude oil for Qatar’s state-owned energy company.
President Donald Trump accused Iran of violating the ceasefire agreement and warned that continued attacks could trigger a far more devastating American response.
“If that happens, the Islamic Republic of Iran will no longer exist,” Trump wrote on social media.
The latest cycle of violence began after an Iranian drone struck a merchant vessel off the coast of Oman on Thursday, prompting U.S. retaliation.
Despite the heightened security risks, commercial shipping has continued through the Strait of Hormuz.
The multinational maritime coalition said 89 U.S.-assisted commercial transits had taken place in the past 72 hours, below the historical daily average of 138 vessels.
The conflict continues to spill into neighboring Lebanon despite a recently signed framework agreement between Israel and Lebanon aimed at ending months of fighting with Hezbollah.
The deal excludes both Iran and Hezbollah, which has rejected calls to disarm and criticized the agreement.
On Sunday, Araghchi again demanded that Washington pressure Israel to halt military operations and withdraw from southern Lebanon.
Israel currently controls roughly 600 square kilometers of territory in southern Lebanon, arguing the buffer zone is necessary to protect communities in northern Israel.
Clashes have continued despite the agreement. Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem said Saturday the group would keep fighting until Israeli forces fully withdraw.
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf called for the newly established “conflict control unit” involving Iran, the United States and Lebanon to meet as soon as possible.
Israeli strikes hit the towns of Taybeh and Nabatiyeh on Sunday morning, according to Lebanon’s National News Agency, though there was no immediate information on casualties.
Overnight, Hezbollah fighters killed an Israeli soldier in Deir Siryan village, Israel’s military said. Hezbollah has not commented on the claim.
The conflict also spilled into Syria on Sunday.
Syrian state media reported that Israeli forces shelled Abdin village in Daraa province after residents allegedly threw stones at an Israeli military convoy.
Local authorities said U.N. peacekeepers intervened, prompting Israeli troops to withdraw before artillery fire forced villagers to flee.
Earlier, Israel’s military said it had killed several armed men in southern Syria without providing further details. Syrian officials have not commented.
Israel has occupied a U.N.-patrolled buffer zone in southern Syria since December 2024 following the fall of former President Bashar Assad, and Israeli officials now say they intend to maintain control of the area indefinitely.
