US, Iran trade more attacks as mediators urge warring sides to uphold MoU

Hind Al Soulia - Riyadh - DUBAI — The United States and Iran traded attacks for a second day on Wednesday, straining their fragile ceasefire further after US President Donald Trump said the truce was “over”.

Iran’s Health Ministry said at least 14 people were killed and 78 others injured in the US attacks over the past two days.

The US military said late on Wednesday that the attacks were aimed at Iran’s “ability to threaten the freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz”.

Before ordering the latest strikes, Trump said the ceasefire with Iran was over, prompting mediators Pakistan and Qatar and the United Nations to call for de-escalation.

The US struck approximately 90 military targets, including missile and drone storage as well as logistics sites along Iran’s coastline, said the Central Command, which oversees US military operations in the Middle East.

In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump called the US attacks “retribution for yesterday’s bombing of ships by Iran. If it happens again, it will get much worse!”

The latest attacks come a day after the US said it hit more than 80 targets in Iran in response to Iranian attacks on commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.

Iranian state media said earlier Thursday that Tehran had targeted US military infrastructure inBahrain, Kuwait and Qatar with drones, while Bahraini authorities have repeatedly activated warning sirens and announced interceptions of aerial threats.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said on Thursday it carried out attacks on “key infrastructure and facilities” at bases used by the US military in Arifjan and Ali Al Salem in Kuwait, and Juffair and Sheikh Isa in Bahrain in response to the latest US bombardment.

The Iranian army later said its forces targeted a Patriot missile system in Kuwait, a satellite antenna in Qatar and US military fuel depots in Bahrain.

Kuwait’s Ministry of Defense said it was intercepting missiles and drones, while Qatar issued an “elevated security threat” alert.

The attacks come a day after Trump said the ceasefire with Iran was “over” and criticized the Iranian leadership. However, he left the door open to more talks and suggested that any strikes would end quickly.

Speaking to reporters on board Air Force One as he traveled back to the US after attending the NATO summit in Turkey, Trump said the Iranian side had “called a little while ago” and that they wanted “to make a deal so badly”.

US strikes hit a railway bridge in Iran’s northeast, according to several official media, and the news agency IRNA reported strikes on a military base in coastal Bushehr, which hosts the nation’s only civilian nuclear power plant.

The Iranian railway (IRIR) said the train service on the Tehran-Mashhad line had been temporarily suspended as a result.

It said technical teams were on site to repair the damaged section so that the rail service could resume as soon as possible, adding that buses had been arranged to transport affected passengers.

Warplanes hovered over Iran’s Kish Island, and explosions rocked the port cities of Bandar Abbas, Konarak and Chabahar, part of which lost electricity, IRNA reported.

At least three people were killed in an attack on the outskirts of Ahvaz, capital of the southwestern province of Khuzestan, IRNA reported, citing the deputy governor of the region.

At least one firefighter was killed in an attack on an airport facility in Iranshahr, IRNA reported.

In mid-June, the US and Iran signed an MoU to extend their ceasefire. It also led to the lifting of the US naval blockade of Iran and the gradual reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.

The MoU came following mediation by Pakistan and Qatar, which served as a launch point for 60 days of talks on more intractable issues, including the future of Iran’s nuclear program, the administration of the Strait of Hormuz and access to billions of dollars in frozen Iranian funds.

Since US-Israeli strikes triggered war in February, Tehran has effectively blocked the strait, threatening to hit vessels that deviate from its authorised route.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres called “on all parties to exercise maximum restraint”, as did Pakistan.

Qatari ⁠Prime ⁠Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani told Iranian Foreign ⁠Minister Abbas Araghchi in a phone ⁠call on Thursday that Iran and the US should commit to diplomacy.

Sheikh Mohammed, who is also the foreign minister, said Washington and Tehran should implement the MoU to end the war.

Iran said the two officials had spoken over the phone and “underscored the importance of using diplomatic means to resolve regional issues”.

The escalation began after the US accused Iran of attacking three commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz, prompting Washington to launch successive waves of strikes on Iranian military targets along Iran's southern coast.

They also warned their responses would expand to other bases across the region if US attacks were repeated.

Iran state media reported explosions in multiple locations along the southern Iranian coast after US Central Command announced a new wave of strikes.

Warplanes were heard over Kish Island and explosions rocked the port cities of Bandar Abbas, Konarak and Chabahar, part of which lost electricity, Iran's official news agency IRNA reported.

Iran's chief negotiator said on Thursday that the Strait of Hormuz would be opened only under "Iranian arrangements".

"The United States still has not learned that bullying and breaking its promises no longer come without consequences," Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said on X. "Let me be clear: If you strike, you will be struck."