Updated by Faith Barbara N Ruhinda at 1256 EAT on Thursday 23 July 2026

The United States carried out a 12th consecutive night of airstrikes on Iran early Thursday, as Tehran retaliated by targeting sites across the Gulf, particularly in Kuwait and Jordan.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said an explosion set a tanker ablaze in the Strait of Hormuz after it attempted to transit the southern shipping lane off the coast of Oman.

The latest exchange marks a further escalation in the conflict, with the Strait of Hormuz—a vital global oil shipping route—emerging as a key flashpoint amid mounting regional tensions.

The United States Central Command (CENTCOM) said it concluded its latest round of airstrikes against Iran at 02:30 GMT on Thursday.

In a statement, CENTCOM said the operation targeted Iranian military infrastructure, including maritime capabilities, missile and drone storage facilities, coastal surveillance sites and air defence assets. It did not specify the locations that were struck.

Iranian media reported that US missiles hit the area surrounding a passenger terminal in Shalamcheh, a city in the southwestern province of Khuzestan near the Iraqi border.

A deputy governor of Khuzestan told state broadcaster IRIB that two people were killed in the attack, while local media reported that 11 others were injured.

Reporting from Tehran, Al Jazeera’s Tohid Assadi said the overnight strikes targeted at least three locations across Khuzestan province, including the city of Ramshir, where an asphalt production facility was reportedly hit.

Explosions were also reported in Sirik, a city in the southern province of Hormozgan overlooking the Strait of Hormuz, underscoring the widening scope of the US military campaign and growing tensions around one of the world’s most strategic maritime corridors.

The governor also confirmed an overnight strike on a power substation near the Bushehr nuclear power plant, resulting in several hours of electricity outages in the city.

Iran’s state broadcaster, IRIB, reported explosions in the southeastern port city of Jask, while the semi-official Tasnim News Agency said a US missile struck an area on the outskirts of Andimeshk in Khuzestan province.

The ISNA news agency, citing Hormozgan Province’s Ports and Maritime Administration, reported that two naval search-and-rescue vessels were seriously damaged in a US strike.
Iran claims strikes on US assets

Kuwait

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it launched attacks on US military assets in Kuwait on Thursday.
In a statement, the IRGC claimed it had destroyed a military equipment warehouse, a Patriot missile defence system and a hangar housing MQ-9 drones at Ali Al Salem Air Base.

Addressing the Kuwaiti public, the IRGC argued that its operations targeted US military installations rather than Kuwait itself.

“It is America that has violated your territorial integrity and sovereignty, not us. We are attacking lands occupied by the American army, an army that knows nothing but crime,” the statement said.

Jordan

Later on Thursday, the IRGC claimed it had also struck US military assets in Jordan, saying it destroyed a radar linked to the US Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile defence system.

The group further claimed it had destroyed a Patriot missile defence system and a C-RAM radar, set fuel storage tanks at a US base ablaze, and damaged a helicopter equipment warehouse and a maintenance facility.

Addressing Jordanians, the IRGC maintained that its operations did not violate the country’s sovereignty, arguing that the presence of US forces constituted an infringement on Jordan’s authority and that attacks on those forces were a legitimate military response.

The claims by the IRGC had not been independently verified, and there was no immediate response from US, Kuwaiti or Jordanian authorities.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said an explosion set an oil tanker ablaze in the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most strategically important shipping routes.

In a statement carried by Iranian state media, the IRGC said two other vessels immediately turned back following the incident.

The force alleged that the three ships were operating under US direction and had attempted to transit a route south of the Strait of Hormuz that it claimed had been mined.

The IRGC further warned that it maintains control over the strategic waterway and threatened to prevent oil tankers from transiting the strait for as long as US military operations in the region continue.

“The powerful IRGC Navy emphasises that the Strait of Hormuz is under our control and that as long as America’s evil deeds in the region continue, it is completely closed and no oil tanker will enter or exit the strait,” the statement said.

The claims could not be independently verified, and there was no immediate response from US authorities.

“Any ship that is deceived by America and attempts to pass through without coordination with the Islamic Republic of Iran will suffer the same fate,” the IRGC said.
The UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) reported that a vessel was targeted about 70 nautical miles (130km) off the coast of Saudi Arabia, triggering a fire onboard. No casualties among the crew were reported.

Meanwhile, Yemen’s Houthi rebels claimed responsibility for an attack on two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea — the Encelia and the Layla. Saudi Arabia’s state news agency, SPA, confirmed that the Encelia had been struck.

The Houthis said the vessels were targeted using cruise missiles, ballistic missiles and drones, claiming the attacks caused major explosions and extensive damage.

The group described the strikes as part of a retaliatory campaign against Saudi Arabia, calling it a “siege-for-siege” response. The Houthis accused Riyadh of imposing a 12-year siege on Yemen and said the attacks were retaliation for what they described as prolonged suffering among the Yemeni population.

Saudi Arabia has rejected the accusations, denying that it has imposed a siege on Yemen.

The Houthi claims, including the extent of the damage caused, could not be independently verified.

-Aljazeera

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