{"id":517059,"date":"2026-07-09T05:21:16","date_gmt":"2026-07-09T05:21:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/517059\/"},"modified":"2026-07-09T05:21:16","modified_gmt":"2026-07-09T05:21:16","slug":"missile-alerts-in-gulf-countries-after-us-launches-airstrikes-against-iran","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/517059\/","title":{"rendered":"Missile alerts in Gulf countries after US launches airstrikes against Iran"},"content":{"rendered":"

Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar have sounded missile alert sirens, warning of an Iranian attack after the United States launched a new round of airstrikes<\/a> targeting Iran.<\/p>\n

There was no immediate word of damage in the three Gulf Arab countries. Kuwait\u2019s military said it was actively intercepting incoming drones and missiles.<\/p>\n

On Wednesday (local time), Iran launched attacks on Bahrain and Kuwait over an earlier round of US airstrikes against Iran. The latest US strikes began Wednesday (local time), hours after President Donald Trump said that recent Iranian attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz signaled the end of the fragile ceasefire.<\/p>\n

The action raised fears that the war in Iran could reignite, coming just a day after the US military hit a variety of military sites and port facilities following Iran\u2019s targeting of several merchant vessels off the coast of Oman.<\/p>\n

Military officials said in a social media post Wednesday (local time) that the latest strikes were intended to \u201cfurther degrade\u201d Iran’s ability \u201cto threaten freedom of navigation\u201d in the strait, through which a fifth of the world\u2019s traded oil and natural gas passed before the war began with US and Israeli attacks on Febraury 28.<\/p>\n

Iranian state media reported explosions in several locations, including Bushehr, home to Iran\u2019s nuclear power plant complex, and the southern port cities of Chabahar, Konarak, Bandar Abbas and Sirik.<\/p>\n

Trump warns ‘it will get much worse\u2019 if attacks on shipping resume<\/p>\n

After leaving a NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, Trump posted several videos on his social media site of what he said were explosions in Iran and issued another warning to the Islamic Republic.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is in retribution for yesterday\u2019s bombing of ships by Iran. If it happens again, it will get much worse!\u201d Trump wrote.<\/p>\n

Trump had said earlier in the day that the latest back-and-forth fighting would not result in \u201clong-term\u201d military action.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnything that happens is going to happen very fast,\u201d Trump said, though he also suggested the US military might \u201cjust finish the job\u201d.<\/p>\n

Trump also renewed his past threats to hit Iran\u2019s civilian infrastructure, including electric plants and desalinization plants, and to seize the oil-production hub of Kharg Island.<\/p>\n

After three tankers were hit Tuesday (local time), the US launched strikes on Iran, and Iranian forces retaliated by attacking American military sites in the Persian Gulf.<\/p>\n

Iran has asserted that the interim ceasefire deal gives it the right to manage traffic through the strait. Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, a key negotiator in talks seeking a permanent end to the war, was defiant in a post on X: \u201cThe era of bullying and extortion is over. It leads nowhere. We don\u2019t fold.\u201d<\/p>\n

Strikes raise fears that war could start again<\/p>\n

Trump fuelled concerns that the war could restart by saying the interim agreement to pause fighting was \u201cover,\u201d although he added that he would allow negotiations to continue.<\/p>\n

Attacks have repeatedly threatened the shaky ceasefire, but Trump’s comments added new uncertainty, and oil prices shot up after he spoke. A renewed conflict could engulf the wider Middle East and would likely again halt energy shipments through the strait.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor me, I think it\u2019s over,\u201d Trump said when asked about the status of the ceasefire. He added that US representatives can continue negotiations, but he cast doubt on the outcome. \u201cThey can talk, but I think they\u2019re wasting their time,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi, also a top negotiator, retorted on X that Trump’s remarks \u201care not a sign of power but an admission of the failure\u201d of US policy toward Iran.<\/p>\n

Trump has threatened to seize Kharg Island at previous points in the war, including last month, when he also questioned whether the US \u201chas the stomach for it\u201d. Some 90% of Iranian oil exports pass through the island.<\/p>\n

The new attacks on ships in the strait, despite the negotiations, could reflect a divide among Iran’s leadership. Hard-liners seek lasting control over the waterway, which is a globally important conduit for fuel shipments and has become a critical lever in confronting the West. Pragmatists want a permanent peace deal to lift international sanctions and provide desperately needed economic relief.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The coffin of the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is carried by mourners to the Imam Ali Shrine in Najaf, Iraq, Wednesday, July 8, 2026. (Source: Associated Press)<\/p>\n

Negotiations to reach a final deal had been due to start after the dayslong funeral for Iran\u2019s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed February 28 in the war\u2019s first moments. The funeral, which ends Thursday, was supposed to be a period of lower tensions.<\/p>\n

The talks are meant to focus on the toughest matters, including fully reopening the strait and rolling back Tehran\u2019s disputed nuclear program.<\/p>\n

US military says it hit air defences and small boats<\/p>\n

On Tuesday (local time), the US military\u2019s Central Command said American forces hit Iranian targets including air-defense systems, radars and over 60 small boats used by Iran\u2019s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard.<\/p>\n

Those boats have been key to threatening ships in the strait. Iran\u2019s ability to bring shipping in the waterway to a near halt during the war proved its greatest strategic advantage.<\/p>\n

On Wednesday morning (local time), both Bahrain, home to the US Navy\u2019s 5th Fleet, and Kuwait, home to US Army forces, sounded missile alerts. The Revolutionary Guard issued a statement acknowledging targeting US military installations in both countries.<\/p>\n

Kuwait said it intercepted two ballistic missiles and 13 drones launched by Iran. The Kuwaiti Electricity Ministry said a number of lines were out of service after shrapnel fell on them.<\/p>\n

US revokes permission to sell Iranian oil<\/p>\n

After the Iranian strikes on shipping, the US revoked a license that \u2014 for the first time in years \u2014 had allowed Iran to conduct oil sales openly in US dollars, as part of the interim deal.<\/p>\n

Iran and the United States agreed as part of the interim deal to allow ships to pass through the strait without paying charges for 60 days. But Tehran has insisted it must control the vessels\u2019 routes and vowed to later charge fees for passage. That would upend decades of practice in the waterway. The ships attacked Tuesday (local time) all appeared to be using a route close to Oman\u2019s shore, rather than one ordered by Tehran.<\/p>\n

The US and many Gulf Arab states say they will not agree to Iran charging for passage through the strait.<\/p>\n

Elsewhere, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Falah al-Zaidi and other Iranian and Iraqi officials attended funeral ceremonies for Khamenei on Wednesday (local time) in the Iraqi city of Najaf.<\/p>\n

Khamenei\u2019s body will be returned to Iran to be buried Thursday at the Imam Reza shrine in Mashhad, his birthplace.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar have sounded missile alert sirens, warning of an Iranian attack after the United States…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":517060,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[42,5107,43,64,40,38,41,39],"class_list":["post-517059","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-headlines","tag-middle-east","tag-news","tag-north-america","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/517059","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=517059"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/517059\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/517060"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=517059"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=517059"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=517059"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}