- US launched new strikes following Iran’s attack on ships.
- Iran retaliated Wednesday, striking US facilities in Gulf bases.
- Bahrain and Qatar issued warnings; explosions struck Iranian cities.
Alarm warnings in Bahrain and Qatar
Bahrain’s Interior Ministry said on Thursday morning that air raid sirens were sounded in the kingdom’s capital, Manama.
There was no specific reference as to the provenance of the threat, but the country had been targeted by Iran on Wednesday in response to an initial wave of US strikes on Iran on Tuesday night.
At the same time, the Reuters news agency reported that residents of neighboring Qatar had sent an “elevated security threat warning” to mobile phones, followed shortly after by an all clear message.
Both Qatar and Bahrain are home to significant US military installations.
Trump: Strikes are ‘retribution’ for Iranian retaliation
US President Donald Trump has said the fresh wave of strikes on Iran on Wednesday night is “retribution for yesterday’s bombing of ships by Iran” in the Strait of Hormuz.
Amid a series of short, uncommented videos in the last 30 minutes, presumably showing the latest missile strikes on Iran, Trump wrote in a social media post, “If it happens again, it will get much worse!”
Iran targeted three cargo ships in the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday in attacks which appear to have prompted Trump to declare the fragile ceasefire over and resume strikes on Iran.
Earlier on Wednesday, Trump made a series of seemingly contradictory remarks on the scope of the war.
He said the back-and-forth fighting would not lead to “long-term” military action and that “nything that happens is going to happen very fast.” However, he also suggested the US military might “just finish the job.”
New strikes to be bigger than previous night — US official
The fresh wave of American strikes against Iran will be greater in number than those carried out on Tuesday, a US official told the Reuters news agency on Wednesday evening.
On Tuesday night, US Central Command (CENTCOM) claimed its forces had struck more than 80 targets, including Iranian air-defense systems, coastal radar sites and 60 IRGC small boats.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it hit US military facilities in Kuwait and Bahrain in retaliation throughout Wednesday.
Iran: Where have strikes been reported?
The fresh strikes on Iran come after US President Donald Trump said earlier on Wednesday that the US would “probably hit them hard again tonight.”
Iranian state media have reported explosions in the southern port cities of Bandar Abbas and Sirik.
Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) has also reported explosions on Abu Musa island in the Strait of Hormuz.
It also said shrapnel from projectiles struck a hospital in Chabahar, further eastwards along Iran’s southern coast.
Disclaimer: This report first appeared on Deutsche Welle, and has been republished on ABP Live as part of a special arrangement. Apart from the headline, no changes have been made in the report by ABP Live. for DW
