Nearly a month after they signed a memorandum of understanding towards ending the US-Israel war against Iran, the two sides resumed fighting with strikes on targets across the region.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards said they targeted the US Fifth Fleet in Bahrain, where the military said it had intercepted attacks against civilian targets, while Jordan's armed forces said they had downed three missiles from the Islamic republic.
US President Donald Trump, meanwhile, threatened to widen strikes next week to hit power plants and bridges unless Tehran returns to the negotiating table and agrees to terms more favorable to Washington.
"Next week it gets really bad for them," he told Fox News. Despite a return to hostilities, mediated talks between the two sides have not formally ended.
At the heart of the resumption of hostilities has been the dispute over the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway that is crucial for global oil and gas flows.
Agreement 'dismantled'
Iran blockaded the Strait of Hormuz in response to the US and Israel launching a massive attack that sparked the wider Middle East war on February 28. Tehran has since used the waterway as leverage against its foes for months, briefly reopening it before again vowing to keep it closed "until the US ends its aggression."
The US, in turn, has reimposed its own blockade of Iran's ports, though Trump has backed down on a planned 20 percent levy on ships using the strait.
Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said the renewed US blockade "has, in a way, dismantled the Islamabad memorandum", referring to the interim deal reached last month to halt hostilities and pursue peace talks.
Days after the return to war, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said it launched "a wave of strikes... designed to further degrade military capabilities Iranian forces have used to attack commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz."
Iranian state media reported explosions near the port city of Bandar Abbas, on the island of Qeshm and on Bandar Imam Khomeini. It later said fresh US strikes hit the southern port city of Bushehr, home to the country's only civilian nuclear plant.
In the capital Tehran, there was no sign of a return to conflict, with ordinary Iranians thronging cafes to watch the France-Spain World Cup semi-final in huge crowds, AFP journalists saw.
But in Kuwait, repeatedly targeted throughout the war, people were anxious.
"Every day, I wake up wondering whether the situation will de-escalate or worsen," said Mustafa Mohamed, a 39-year-old Sudanese accountant in the Gulf country.
"It has become difficult to feel at ease or plan anything because uncertainty grips everyone."
George Atef, a 38-year-old Egyptian civil servant in Kuwait, said: "What exhausts me most is not knowing when this situation will end -- the waiting itself has become draining."
Trump scraps levy
Since the war began, Iran has asserted its control over the Strait of Hormuz and opened fire on ships for taking unauthorised routes.
"The retaliatory operations of the fighters will continue, and the Strait of Hormuz will remain closed until the United States ends its acts of aggression," the Guards said.
A Norwegian tanker was hit by an explosion caused by an unidentified device off the Omani coast early Tuesday, the crisis response company MTI Network said.
And Kuwait said one of its naval vessels was struck during an Iranian missile and drone barrage, wounding four crew members.
Trump meanwhile said he was scrapping a planned levy on ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz that he announced Monday, replacing the fee with trade deals with Gulf allies.
"I have decided to replace the 20% United States Reimbursement Fee with Trade and Investment Deals that the various Gulf States will be making into the United States," Trump said in a post on his Truth Social network.
Since last week, renewed US attacks have killed at least 30 people in Iran, government spokesman Fatemeh Mohajerani said.
Separately, the military announced that seven of its personnel were killed in Wednesday's strikes on the southeast.
The US and Israel launched two wars against Iran during diplomatic negotiations -- one in June 2025 and another starting in February 2026. Iran countered each campaign by striking Israel and neighboring Gulf countries that host US troops.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose country has not so far rejoined the latest round of fighting, warned Iranian leaders on Tuesday that Israel would deal a heavy blow if they launched an attack on his country.
Speaking from Dimona, a southern town, house to Israel's undeclared nuclear arsenal, he said: "Do not count on things remaining quiet if you attack us."
Last week, Iran warned that "any attack on infrastructure will be retaliated against," including by striking Israel.
Short link: