A series of unclaimed airstrikes targeted areas across southern Iran on Thursday, raising questions about who else might be attacking the Islamic Republic, particularly as the United States had just announced the conclusion of its own military operations.
The strikes occurred as Iran was preparing to bury its late Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iranian news outlets and state media reported explosions and airstrikes hitting Bushehr and Sistan and Baluchestan provinces, as well as the cities of Ahvaz and Chabahar, among other locations.
The U.S. military’s Central Command confirmed that it had concluded a round of strikes, hitting approximately 90 targets, around 6:30 a.m. local Iran time on Thursday. A U.S. defense official, speaking anonymously, stated that no new American strikes had taken place since that time. Israel, which participated in the broader Iran war, also has not claimed responsibility for any recent attacks on Iran since June, typically claiming its operations immediately.
In response to these new, unclaimed strikes, Iran launched a wider volley of attacks across the Mideast, targeting Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, and Qatar. Missile alert sirens sounded in these four countries, sending residents to seek shelter, and one person was reportedly injured in Kuwait as air defense systems intercepted incoming fire.
The attacks come amidst ongoing tensions over the Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway for global energy markets. While the world has long considered it an international passage, Iran now insists on sole control and demands fees from vessels. Before the war, roughly a fifth of all oil and natural gas transited the strait. Iran’s control over the strait during the conflict contributed to a global energy crisis, although oil prices have since dropped sharply from wartime highs of $120 a barrel.
On Friday, the Joint Maritime Information Center, a multinational body overseen by the U.S. Navy, issued a new advisory urging mariners to use a southern route through Oman’s territorial waters to avoid Iran. This advice follows a similar message that preceded an Iranian attack on Tuesday, which saw three vessels hit. The center emphasized, “Notwithstanding recent unprovoked attacks on merchant vessels, mariners are reminded that the southern route of the (strait) has been expanded and remains available for all traffic.”
Iranian lawmaker Esmail Kousari, a member of the parliament’s national security committee and a former Revolutionary Guard commander, warned the United Arab Emirates on Friday that it would “pay the price for its cooperation with the United States.” He accused the Emirates of playing a “behind-the-scenes” role in the recent U.S. attacks. Gulf Arab states, which have been repeatedly targeted by Iran since the war began on February 28, did not immediately respond to requests for comment regarding the latest strikes. They have consistently denied Iran’s accusations of actively supporting the U.S. war effort, despite the U.S. maintaining a broad military presence across Gulf Arab states, including the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet headquarters in Bahrain, since the 1991 Gulf War.
During the broader Iran war, previous unclaimed airstrikes were later attributed to Saudi Arabia and the UAE after Tehran had struck energy sites in their countries. Renewed strikes by a Gulf country could be an attempt to deter Iran from targeting these states again.
Meanwhile, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz reiterated threats, stating his nation was ready to confront Iran if necessary. Katz declared at a military ceremony that the Israeli military “is on alert and ready to renew the campaign, to reestablish aerial superiority, and to carry out a blue-white (Israeli) strike in Iran to remove threats, even for a third time,” adding, “If we will have to return, we will return with even greater force.” The Israeli government also reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke with U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday night, during which Trump updated Netanyahu “on American moves in the Gulf.”
