Iran strikes Gulf neighbors after new US attacks

Tehran shut the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday and fired missiles and drones at its Gulf neighbors, retaliating for fresh US strikes that followed an Iranian attack on a merchant vessel abandoned in flames by its crew.

Sirens and explosions were reported across Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. The escalation further undermines an interim deal between Washington and Tehran meant to end the Middle East war.

Why did Iran strike its Gulf neighbors?

Iran struck Gulf neighbors in response to fresh American attacks on its forces, which the Pentagon says followed an Iranian assault on a merchant ship in the Strait of Hormuz.

Tehran also framed the strikes as part of a broader campaign against continued US intervention in the region. The Revolutionary Guards said the strait would stay closed until American operations there end.

What happened to the ship in the Strait of Hormuz?

The Pentagon said it struck Iran early Sunday after the Revolutionary Guards fired on a Cyprus-registered container ship for sailing an "unauthorized route" through the strait. Iranian media reported explosions in Bandar Abbas, Sirik, Jask and on Qeshm Island, along with blasts in Khuzestan province near the Iraqi border. No casualties were immediately reported from those strikes.

Iran's Guards said they had struck and stopped a vessel that ignored repeated instructions to use an approved shipping corridor, according to state news agency IRNA. "Following this incident... the Strait of Hormuz will be closed until further notice and until the end of American interventions in this region," the Guards said. Iran described the strike as "warning shots," but the US military said Tehran had "blatantly attacked" the ship.

A crew member went missing after the vessel was disabled by fire and engine room damage, US Central Command said. The crew abandoned ship and boarded a lifeboat, British maritime agency UKMTO reported, placing the incident about 17 kilometers (10 miles) east of Oman. Washington said it was "imposing a heavy cost" to stop Iran attacking civilian and commercial ships in the strait.

How did the US and Iran retaliate against each other?

CENTCOM said the US military had hit roughly 140 Iranian military targets, completing a third round of strikes this week ordered by President Donald Trump. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said simply, "Iran made a poor choice. Now they pay." Iran's Guards responded by striking US bases and radar sites in Jordan, Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar using ballistic missiles and drones.

Air raid sirens later sounded over Bahrain, while the UAE and Qatar said they intercepted incoming missiles. Earlier Iranian strikes on vessels in the strait had already triggered exchanges of fire between Tehran and Washington. Those exchanges have hardened rhetoric between the two sides in recent days.

Why is the Strait of Hormuz central to the conflict?

The tensions threaten an interim agreement meant to end the Middle East war, which erupted in late February after massive US-Israeli strikes killed former supreme leader Ali Khamenei. A major sticking point in reaching a final deal is the future status of the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran closed to commercial shipping during the war. The waterway is a critical route for Gulf oil and gas exports, and its closure has already strained the global economy.

Iran wants to control ship passage through the strait and charge fees, a position the US has rejected. Customary international law generally bars states from charging tolls on straits used for international navigation. That legal gap leaves the strait's status as one of the toughest issues for negotiators to resolve.

What has Iran's new leadership said about revenge?

The latest strikes came as Iran's new supreme leader vowed revenge for the killing of his father and predecessor, hours after Trump warned of severe reprisals over any attempt on his own life. Trump has declared the ceasefire over while leaving room for talks, and mediators are still working to salvage a diplomatic path. "Vengeance is the will of our nation and must inevitably be carried out," Mojtaba Khamenei said in a written message, his first since his father's funeral this week.

Khamenei said Iran had compiled a list of individuals to target, and added that the campaign would continue regardless of whether officials, including himself, remain in place. He has not appeared in public since before the war and was reportedly wounded in the strikes that killed his father. Trump, for his part, posted on Truth Social that any assassination attempt against him would lead the US to "completely decimate" Iran.

Is there still a path to a ceasefire?

Despite the escalation, mediators continue working to bring diplomacy back on track between Washington and Tehran. Iran's Tasnim news agency reported Friday that a Qatari delegation had visited Iran to reinforce Doha's role as mediator. Neither side has publicly abandoned talks even as strikes continue.